Former President Donald Trump announced that he and Vice President Kamala Harris have “reached an agreement” to debate on September 10. Trump said that “the rules will be the same as the last CNN debate, which seemed to work out well for everyone.”
According to a source with knowledge of the discussions, the rules will be similar to those that CNN used for its debate on June 27 between Trump and President Joe Biden. For example, microphones will be turned off while the other candidate speaks, and there will be no studio audience.
In a statement, a Harris campaign spokesperson needled Trump, saying: “Both candidates have publicly made clear their willingness to debate with unmuted mics for the duration of the debate to fully allow for substantive exchanges between the candidates – but it appears Donald Trump is letting his handlers overrule him. Sad!”
In his post on Truth Social, Trump didn’t say anything about the mute microphones. He just said that the rules will be the same as in his first discussion of the cycle with Biden.
His announcement came after a period of talks between his campaign and Harris’s campaign, which had hit a standstill over certain debate rules, especially how microphones should be turned off when candidates are not speaking.
An insider said that Trump’s team wanted the mics to be turned off during the debate, except for when it was the candidate’s turn to speak, just like it was in June.
The CNN debate rules also didn’t allow for a studio crowd. Both candidates stood on the same stage, and the winner was decided by flipping a coin. After the first 90 minutes, there were two commercial breaks. During those breaks, campaign staff were not allowed to talk to the contenders.
The stage didn’t allow any props or notes that had already been written, but each candidate was given a pen, a pad of paper, and a bottle of water.
But it looks like the argument over talks is still going on.
Trump said Harris turned down a debate with him on Fox News on September 4, but he would keep the date open in case she “changes her mind.”
Trump also talked about a possible third debate with NBC News. He said that the Harris team has not agreed to it.
Harris’ ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket has led to an increase in the party’s polling numbers, but some experts remain skeptical of her newfound lead.
“If the polling errors are anywhere close to what they were in 2016 and 2020, then Trump is in the lead right now,” Democrat strategist Julian Epstein told Fox News this week.
The comments come as the RealClearPolitics polling average shows Harris with a narrow 1.5-point lead over former President Trump nationally.
This represents a notable shift from the three-point lead Trump held over Biden the day before the president exited the race, Fox noted.
However, Harris’s lead is much narrower compared to the gaps Trump faced at similar points in 2016 and 2020.
In those years, Trump trailed Hillary Clinton by 6 points and Joe Biden by 7.1 points at the same stage. Despite these deficits, Trump outperformed his polling numbers in both elections, a fact that Democrats are keenly aware of as they approach the final stretch of the 2024 campaign.
