The former president mocked the network and questioned why he would attend, while the vice president advocated for each candidate’s microphone to be left on throughout the Sept. 10 program.
Prizefighters frequently taunt their opponents at weigh-ins before important fights in an attempt to psych them out.
So it is with the presidential contenders who will meet next month in the city of Rocky Balboa.
The Harris and Trump teams spat on Monday over the ground rules for their upcoming ABC News debate in Philadelphia, with each side attempting to win political points off the other. And within hours, the Trump campaign’s argument was weakened by an unlikely opponent: Mr. Trump himself.
The feud began on Sunday when former President Donald J. Trump slammed ABC on social media, claiming that the network’s anchors and executives were biased against him and threatening to withdraw from the event for the second time. “I ask, why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” Mr. Trump wrote.
Then, on Monday, Ms. Harris’ team went public, attempting to amend one of the debate’s agreed-upon conditions: that each candidate’s microphone be muted when it is not their turn to speak.
“We have told ABC and other networks looking to host a possible October debate that we believe both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the broadcast,” Brian Fallon, a Harris campaign spokesperson, told Politico.
He ended with an aside: “Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own.”
