ABC News released rules for the Sept. 10 debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump: They include muted microphones when the candidate isn’t speaking, strict time limits and no audience.
Harris’ team was originally pushing to not have their mics muted.
“We believe both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the full broadcast,” Brian Fallon, the Harris campaign’s senior adviser for communications, said in a statement on Aug. 26. He added that Trump’s handlers preferred the muting approach since, as he put it, they “don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own.”
Jason Miller, senior adviser for Trump, told Politico at the time that the Vice President was “looking for a way to get out of any debate with President Trump.”
Next week’s debate will be 90 minutes long with two commercial breaks and will be moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis. Other notable points include:
• Trump won the virtual coin toss on Tuesday and chose to offer the last closing statement. Meanwhile, Harris selected the right podium position on screen (stage left).
• Candidates will be introduced by the moderators and, as the incumbent party, Harris will be introduced first.
• There will be opening statements and closing statements will be limited to two minutes per candidate.
• The moderators will be the only people asking questions and candidates are not permitted to ask each other questions.
• Candidates will stand behind podiums for the duration of the debate, ostensibly to avoid a “he’s right behind her” situation that occurred during the podium-free 2016 event with Trump and then-rival Hillary Clinton or the wandering that took place in a 2000 debate between George W. Bush and Al Gore.
• Props or prewritten notes are not allowed onstage, but candidates will be given a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.
• No topics or questions will be shared in advance with campaigns or candidates.
• Candidates will have two-minute answers to questions, two-minute rebuttals, and one extra minute for follow-ups, clarifications or responses.
• Candidates’ microphones will be live only for the candidate whose turn it is to speak and muted when the time belongs to another candidate.
• Campaign staff may not interact with candidates during commercial breaks.
• Moderators will seek to enforce timing agreements and ensure a “civilized” discussion.
• There will be no audience in the room.
Trump initially refused to debate Harris when she replaced sitting President Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate, but later acquiesced.
The debate will take place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and air live on ABC on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 9:00 p.m. EDT, and stream live on the 24/7 streaming network ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu, and will also be available for simulcast.
Meanwhile, Vice Presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz have agreed to debate on Oct. 1, which will be hosted by CBS.
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