Aug. 28 (UPI) — Former President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will participate in next month’s 90-minute debate in Philadelphia with Vice President Kamala Harris after raising concerns about the rules.
Trump revealed his decision to participate in the live Sept. 10 debate on ABC in a post on his Truth Social media platform, saying he had “reached an agreement” over the rules, which will include muted microphones.
“The rules will be the same as the last CNN debate, which seemed to work out well for everyone,” the former president wrote.
“The debate will be ‘stand up,’ and candidates cannot bring notes, or ‘cheat sheets.’ We have also been given assurance by ABC that this will be a ‘fair and equitable’ debate, and that neither side will be given the questions in advance,” he added.
In the post, Trump said he is still open to a Fox News debate scheduled for Sept. 4, after Harris would not agree to participate. Trump also said he is willing to take part in a third debate with NBC News.
“A possible third debate, which would go to NBC fake news, has not been agreed to by the radical left,” Trump added.
The rules for next month’s debate will be much like those used by CNN for its June 27 debate between Trump and President Joe Biden. That includes muted microphones when the other candidate speaks and no studio audience. Candidates will also be given a pad of paper, a pen and water.
While Trump on Monday told reporters he preferred live microphones, the Harris campaign — which also lobbied for unmuted mics– indicated Tuesday it had not agreed to the terms.
“Both candidates have publicly made clear their willingness to debate with unmuted mics for the duration of the debate to fully allow for substantive exchanges between the candidates — but it appears Donald Trump is letting his handlers overrule him. Sad!” the Harris campaign said in a statement.
Trump and Biden had agreed to a second and final debate on Sept. 10, before Biden ended his presidential re-election campaign last month following a poor performance during the first debate.
Earlier this month, Trump said he planned to reconcile with debate host ABC, despite ongoing legal issues with the network. The former president currently has a defamation lawsuit against ABC and host George Stephanopoulos before the courts.
