Kamala Harris has complained to ABC News that she will be “disadvantaged” by the format of next Tuesday’s televised showdown with Donald Trump.
While agreeing to the rules of the debate, Harris’ campaign has written to the network saying the former prosecutor is unhappy about the candidates’ microphones being muted when it’s not their turn to speak.
Harris believes Trump insisted on the condition to shield him from any head-to-head confrontations, according to CNN, quoting a letter sent from the Harris campaign to ABC News.
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“Vice President Harris, a former prosecutor, will be fundamentally disadvantaged by this format, which will serve to shield Donald Trump from direct exchanges with the Vice President. We suspect this is the primary reason for his campaign’s insistence on muted microphones,” the letter is reported as saying.
ABC News says both candidates agreed to the format in May and a source told CNN that the network may turn on the mics so viewers can hear what is happening if there is a substantial crossfire between Harris and Trump.
The Harris campaign reportedly said it feared Trump would pull out if the microphones were left unmuted.
“Notwithstanding our concerns, we understand that Donald Trump is a risk to skip the debate altogether, as he has threatened to do previously, if we do not accede to his preferred format,” CNN reported the letter as saying. “We do not want to jeopardize the debate. For this reason, we accept the full set of rules proposed by ABC, including muted microphones.”
Harris was not alone in seeking an advantage ahead of the much-anticipated presidential debate.
At a Fox News town hall on Wednesday night, Trump claimed ABC News was “dishonest” and suggested his Democratic opponent was going to receive the questions in advance.
He based his unsubstantiated claim on Harris’ friendship with an executive with links to the network, reported the New York Times.
Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he would treat Harris the same as he did Joe Biden, whose disastrous debate performance ultimately led to him dropping out of the race in favor of his vice president.
“I let him talk—I’m going to let her talk,” Trump told Hannity. “There are those that say that Biden is smarter than she is. If that’s the case, we have a problem.”
