United States Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have agreed on the rules for their upcoming debate, resolving a dispute over whether microphones should remain on throughout the event. The debate, scheduled for September 10, had faced uncertainty due to disagreements about the handling of microphone control.
ABC News confirmed the format for the debate on Wednesday, following the resolution of the microphone issue. Trump will be given the last closing statement and will stand on the left side of the screen after winning a virtual coin toss. The 90-minute debate, to be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, will take place without a live audience.
Harris’s campaign had initially advocated for keeping the microphones on at all times, arguing that it would allow her to address Trump’s potential interruptions and falsehoods in real time. However, the campaign eventually agreed to the compromise that microphones would be muted during the other candidate’s speaking turn. In a letter to ABC News, the Harris campaign acknowledged that it would be “fundamentally disadvantaged by this format” but chose not to jeopardize the debate.
Trump had previously suggested that he would prefer the microphones to remain on but ultimately agreed to the same arrangement used in past debates. The microphone issue had briefly cast doubt on whether the September 10 debate, the first and so far only confirmed face-off between the Democratic and Republican nominees, would take place as scheduled.
This resolution marks a critical step forward for the highly anticipated debate, which will be a key moment in the ongoing campaign for the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
