WASHINGTON — ABC News has declined to adopt Vice President Kamala Harris’ request to have wholly unmuted microphones during her Sept. 10 debate with former President Donald Trump — after days of wrangling over what Republicans viewed as Harris’ attempt to lay a trap for their nominee.
A network email, written by ABC News chief counsel Eric Lieberman and reviewed by The Post, lays out similar rules as those for Trump’s June 27 CNN debate against President Biden — including no audience, no pre-written notes or props and muted mics when a candidate is not speaking. Trump and Harris will be standing on stage and will only be allowed to have a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.
Trump’s campaign had insisted the debate — set to be held at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center — follow the same rules as the showdown with Biden.
Harris’ team sought to have unmuted microphones despite the debate with Biden having been conducted with them muted when the other candidate was speaking.
A Trump campaign source told The Post that it’s their understanding that Harris’ campaign backed down, though the precise chronology is unclear. A Harris spokesman did not immediately comment.
It was widely assumed that Harris wanted the microphones unmuted to deploy an interjectory line to garner viral buzz.
Harris, a former prosecutor, generated sympathetic coverage for delivering a stern “I’m speaking!” in 2020 against then-Vice President Mike Pence — depicting him as sexist — after savaging Biden on a presidential primary debate stage in 2019 for opposing federally mandated interracial school bussing.
“That little girl was me!” Harris emoted in a racially charged attack that prompted a furious first lady Jill Biden to say Harris should “go f–k herself.”
Both debate-stage quotes were used on pro-Harris campaign merchandise.
“The Harris folks are completely full of it. Everything was agreed to and set last week. The Harris people trying to distract and come up with some shiny to move away form the fact that she’s not doing interviews,” Trump adviser Jason Miller said on Newsmax on Wednesday.