It’s I’m definitely seeing signs that the upcoming debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday, September 10, at 9 pm ET won’t happen. Why? Washington Post reporter Josh Dawsey reported on Friday that the Harris campaign has not yet accepted the rules for the debate.
According to the rules, the debate will feature no audience, with VIP hold rooms for immediate family and staff areas on-site and in the media/spin room. The debate will be 90 minutes long, with two commercial breaks, and will follow a format without opening statements but with two-minute closing statements. David Muir and Linsey Davis of ABC News will moderate. Both podium placement and the order of closing statements will be determined by a virtual coin flip on September 3, where the winner can choose which aspect to decide.
The candidates will not be allowed props or pre-written notes but will have a pen, a pad of paper, and a bottle of water. The debate will have strict rules on timing and microphone use, with lights indicating remaining time and microphones live only for the speaking candidate. No questions or topics will be shared in advance, and candidates cannot ask each other questions or have staff interaction during breaks. Moderators will enforce timing and “ensure a civilized discussion.”
The rules are pretty simple and straightforward, and there’s hardly anything worth making a big fuss about. Yet, on Saturday morning, Kamala Harris was crying foul, accusing Trump of playing games.
Let’s not forget that it was the Biden-Harris campaign that wanted no live microphones for the first debate with Trump and Biden, and when Kamala Harris became the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee, when Trump wanted to renegotiate dates, hosts, and rules for the debates, Kamala insisted that Donald Trump had already agreed to the date, host, and rules, and claimed he was trying to get out debating her.