Donald Trump he criticized ABC stationwhich is scheduled to host the debate on September 10, after visiting Arlington National Cemetery to mark the third anniversary of the Kabul airport bombing.
“This is the worst network in terms of dishonesty,” Trump said, adding that ABC Television “should be closed.”
US Elections: Donald Trump Asks About the Sense of the Debate
A day earlier, he attacked the station in a similar tone on his social media site Truth Social, asking: “why should I debate against Wrong Harris in this network?”
Politico and other media outlets reported that the two teams are arguing about the rules of the match, which will take place in Philadelphia. The main issue is whether the hosts will be able to turn off candidates' microphonesas happened during the Trump-Biden debate on CNN on June 27. Kamala Harris' campaign wants the microphones always onwhile Trump's people prefer keep your microphones muted.
“We understand that Trump's management team prefers muted microphones because they don't think he can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own,” Harris' campaign said in a statement. The vice president's team suggested that the Republican candidate himself he doesn't know about his staff's demandsbecause his people were ashamed to tell him that they doubted he would be able to behave properly.
Trump himself, when asked about this on Monday, said that he himself would prefer the microphones to be on all the time, but added that both campaigns had already agreed on two debates on the same principles.
The ABC debate in Philadelphia is the only television clash between the candidates scheduled so far. Since Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential candidate, Trump has suggested several times that he might pull out of the ABC debate, proposing duels on Fox News and CNN instead.
He also praised CNN, the host of the first debate – which led to President Biden withdrawing. The network was criticized for no response to false statements and distortions by candidates.