As the US presidential election approaches, a televised debate between former President Trump and current Vice President Harris is set to take place on September 10th.
However, on Sunday Eastern Time, this already planned debate suddenly changed, with Trump threatening to withdraw from the debate - causing another stir in the US election.
Trump suddenly threatens to withdraw from the debate?
On September 10th this year, Harris and Biden will participate in a debate hosted by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) - a debate that had previously been finalized by Biden and Trump, but after Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic candidate, she made some new requirements for the debate rules.
The Harris team proposed that they want to keep the microphone open throughout the debate, while the Trump team disagreed. The Trump team has already finalized the debate rules with the Biden team, which require one party to turn off the microphone of the other party when speaking, just like the June debate between Trump and Biden, so they do not agree with this change.
Trump also hinted that he believed there was partisan bias in the previously agreed upon debate venue, the American Broadcasting Corporation, which could be detrimental to him.
On Sunday Eastern Time, Trump posted on social media suggesting that he may not be willing to participate in the debate:
Why am I debating with Kamala Harris on that TV station?... They have been questioned a lot and must explain everything
In addition to the election rules, the Trump team is clearly dissatisfied with the election venue. Trump had previously proposed hosting another debate on September 4th on Fox News, but the Harris team disagreed. Fox News has always been the mouthpiece of the Republican Party.
Trump also complained on social media, "Why does Harris refuse to debate on Fox News, NBC, CBS, and even CNN? Wait for my announcement
The impact of televised debates on the US presidential election is enormous, as it will greatly affect the image of the two candidates in the public eye. In the first election debate on June 27th of this year, the Democratic candidate Biden did not perform well in the debate, leading to a sharp decline in his poll approval rating and pressure from many donors to withdraw their funds. This also became one of the important triggers that forced Biden to ultimately give up the race.
Harris team's sudden change of heart
On Monday Eastern Time, Harris' spokesperson Brian Fallon stated that the vice president's campaign team hopes that the broadcasting company will keep the candidate's microphone on throughout the entire debate process, rather than muting it when the opponent speaks, as was done during the last presidential debate.
This rule means that candidates can interrupt their opponents during speeches, which will further test the temporary reaction ability of both political candidates.
The Vice President is ready to respond in real-time to Trump's constant lies and interference. Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button, "Fallon said in a statement.
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, responded by saying that they had agreed to use the same terms as CNN's June debate in this debate (which required one party to mute the other's microphone when speaking), and added, "We have said we will not change the rules that have already been agreed upon
Trump: I didn't spend too much time preparing for the debate
But Trump later told reporters that he actually preferred to keep the microphone on, and added that he didn't like the rule of muting the microphone like in the last debate.
It doesn't matter to me. I'd rather keep it open. But the current agreement is the same as last time, "Trump said.
He also revealed that he seemed to have a clear plan for this debate and did not make too many different preparations due to the different hands of the debate team.
I won't spend too much time on this (debate). I think I've been preparing for debate my whole life... You can't cram 30 years of knowledge into your mind in one week... so, I'll do some debate preparation, but I always do it in roughly the same way