Harris calls on Trump to debate with microphones on whole time - Reuters

The Democratic presidential candidate stated that Trump appears to be influenced by his advisors, who prevent him from having a live microphone during debates. Harris argued that if Trump's team lacks confidence in him, the American public likely does too.

“We are running for President of the United States. Let’s debate in a transparent way — with the microphones on the whole time,” Harris wrote on social media, addressing the Republican candidate.

According to Trump, he prefers to have his microphone on. The Republican expressed dissatisfaction that his microphone was turned off during his last debate in June with then-candidate Joe Biden.

Reuters notes that microphones throughout debates could either benefit or harm political candidates by capturing off-the-cuff remarks that were sometimes not intended for public hearing. Conversely, muted microphones prevent debaters from interrupting each other.

Reuters added that the upcoming debate will be the first face-off between Harris and Trump since current President Joe Biden withdrew from the race following a poor performance in a debate on CNN.

Additionally, Reuters reported that Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance have agreed to a debate on October 1 on CBS News.

Rules for future debates

Recently, Trump stated that he has agreed to the debate rules with Harris for the September 10 event, which he said will follow the same format as the last debate on CNN with Biden.

However, a CNN source reported that Harris’s team is still negotiating with ABC News about whether the microphones will be on throughout the entire debate.

Trump’s team, according to the source, prefers the microphones to remain off except for the candidate who has the floor, as was the case in June.

CNN concluded that it is likely the debate rules have not yet been fully finalized.