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https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/26/kamala-harris-donald-trump-debate-abc-microphones-00176294
Negotiations over the Sept. 10 spectacle have hit an impasse over whether to leave the microphones on.
“We have told ABC and other networks seeking to host a possible October debate that we believe both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the full broadcast,” Brian Fallon, the Harris campaign’s senior adviser for communications, tells POLITICO. “Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own. We suspect Trump’s team has not even told their boss about this dispute because it would be too embarrassing to admit they don’t think he can handle himself against Vice President Harris without the benefit of a mute button.”
Lmao this is great. Hit him right in the ego. It’s such a hilariously obvious weak spot. I’m going to be a bit surprised if this tactic doesn’t work. And as to whether or not it’s a good idea: I feel pretty confident Harris would be fine in this context, because she’d just put her old DA hat on and refuse to take any bullshit. I’m an order of magnitude more enthusiastic about her potential debate performance than I was about Biden.
Yeah, pointing out his weakness and blaming it on the people closest to him obviously works. He trusts no one so all it takes is a whisper to pollute his mind.
It could be rope-a-dope. Harris demands something that Trump actually wants. Trump has no idea what to do.
This is a real thing. They want A until you express an interest in A. Then it was always B
It's like dealing with an 'effin toddler.
How is this even reality at this point....jeez.
We're coming up on a decade of this. Next year will be the 10th anniversary of the golden escalator to Hell.
I remember talking to a friend of mine after he announced. We're both native New Yorkers who have watched Trump for far too long. Both of us are politically aware/active.
I told her that Trump was in the race and she told me that she didn't want to have to think about Trump.
Also, most of the crowd that greeted him that day were paid actors.
I actually think this is what they're doing. Trump would by far benefit the most from a hot mic - talking (shouting) over his opponents is like half of his debate "strategy" and it sadly usually works out for him. Even with courtroom experience I'm not sure Harris can wrangle him.
However, taunting him into accepting a more formal debate structure with muted mics and speaking in turns would take away his favourite move.
They're going to make us watch a privileged piece of garbage shout, "No, you!" As a woman is trying to speak.
We have never been closer to Donny using the N-word live on tv than we are at this exact moment
Huh, I figured this was Trump looking to pull his usual antics, but it's Kamala looking to get him to pull his antics.
Certainly enjoying that her campaign appears clever enough to actually stay ahead of his bullshit so far
Here's a crazy idea: no PERSON is involved in cutting off the mic.
They're on timers.
X you have 45 seconds to answer. timer clicks down and auto shuts off
Boom.
Nobody has to worry about biased moderation because they wouldn't let cheeto ramble weirdly for ten minutes.
And more importantly we won't have to deal with a fucking child doing the "I STILL TALKING AND LOUDER SO MY POINT IS BEST LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU* on stage while 30% of the country cheers.
This is probably a good call. In the debate with Biden, Trump gish galloped through every question without ever actually answering any questions. By the time Biden got to speak, there were ten or fifteen lies to respond to. Even Harris could be overwhelmed by the magnitude of that. She needs to be able to interrupt Trump as he lies as well as to point out that he didn't answer the question he was asked.
If she laughs at him at all he will probably lose his shit. The Trump ticket cannot handle laughter.
That would only work if she actually answers the questions she's asked, too. My big gripe with Harris in her VP debates and interviews was that she dodged every question that wasn't in her talking points.
Maybe she can answer directly now that she's not deferring to the president. Maybe not.
However, she can still do the "disappointed mom if a petulant child" shtick without calling or for question evasion anyway. They are not linked.
This seems risky. “Never argue with an idiot. They’ll drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”
On the other hand, vamping is his entire persona. If she can shut that down and emphasize how pathetic it is (without losing her own composure), it’s basically game over.
Her team wants it on, his team wants it off.
The expectation is that Harris will likely goad Trump into saying something dumb when it isn't his time to speak. Since she was a relatively successful prosecutor, she'll probably do well with a quick response focused to the public.
But Biden is no longer running for president. And Harris’ campaign wants the microphones to be hot at all times during the ABC debate — as has historically been the case at presidential debates.
That's really stupid...
Article goes to say they want trump to interrupt Harris because they think if Trump is loud and keeps interrupting it'll hurt him?
That's what his supporters want...
I can't believe it's not trump wanting the mics to stay on
Because he knows a prosecutor will completely destroy him and his slow feeble old man brain.
So you think Harris wants them unmuted so she can interrupt trump?
That would just turn a debate (where Harris as an exprosecuter will shine) and make it a slapfight which is Trump's bread and butter.
You think Kamala's time in court was two people yelling over each other at a judge?
Or you think it was taking turns making a case?
Prosecutors question witnesses who will try to ignore questions and talk over you. So she does have some useful experience. But you're right, there won't be a judge to issue rulings or maintain decorum.
Biden doesn't possess the wherewithal or the demeanor to talk over Trump while he's spewing bullshit.
Harris does. She will interrupt Trump, she will get loud when he tries to interrupt her, and Trump will not have good answers to her questions. If she gets him angry and flustered, he will look like a raving lunatic.
I didn't think it was a good idea for Biden to drop out, but I'm happy to have been proven wrong about that so far. I think this is an indication that Harris is ready for the debate in a way Biden couldn't be.
That's really stupid...
I don't think so. While yes, his die hard supporters would love this. Undecided voters wouldn't, especially if he couldn't restrain himself and started pulling out anti-black/anti-woman rhetoric.
I can't believe it's not trump wanting the mics to stay on
I can. Because he's scared of the pressure it would put on him to find a balance between playing his insane base and trying to win over non-insane people so he can win.
You're giving trump credit for a lot more self awareness than I do then...
I don't think trump is capable of understanding he's better off not talking.
And to me this is just bringing back bad memories of when Hillary was rooting for trump because she thought he would be the only one she could beat in the general.
Stop overestimating what Americans will vote for.
Leave him on mute so Harris' turns can be about talking how she'll help Americans, and then trump can rant and rave.
You want to get "undecideds" to pick Harris? Show them the obvious differences, not have them scream over and constantly interrupt each other.
I think she figures if he’s muted, she’ll do better. If he’s not, she can handle him. By taunting his planning and making him seem cowardly, she popping his ego and he’s unhinged already.
I think the play is not the debate itself, but the constant taunts.
I'm with you completely. Trump was shouting over Hillary constantly in those debates and "making a fool out of himself", and in the end those debates were at best a tie but most likely a Trump win.
You can cite her courtroom experience all you want but I don't think Harris beats Trump in a shouting match, so letting him interrupt her at will is absolutely a disadvantage.
Yep.
Let trump ramble his nonsense, and Harris can just say:
That's nonsense, now let me talk about how I'm gonna help Americans.
For someone like trump, being dismissed like that is the absolute worse thing. Everytime they let him talk he'd get more and more unhinged, and Kamala could just stay calm and stay on message. Hell, she could even throw in a couple "you need to calm down" or "why are you yelling", that shit that sounds like you're de-escalating but everyone knows it's just gonna wind the other person up more.
If there's open mics, trump will constantly jump in and all Kamala will get to is:
That's nonsense
And they'll just go back and forth.
It's exactly what trump voters want to see, and it's probably trump's favorite way to spend an evening.
Interesting that the Harris campaign is being reported to want the mics to stay on, which runs counter to what many have demanded as a requirement for debating Trump. That would mean she is less concerned with him attempting to talk over her (her famous "I'm speaking" line comes to mind), and perhaps more interested in catching him saying something she can attack.
As annoying as it is, and there is some risk, I think letting Trump rave and bluster might be the best way to go. Especially in the hands of a skilled prosecutor.
These debates aren't about policy anyway, they're about optics.
Trump will lose his shit and prove how old and weird he is. Harris will I'm speaking him when he interrupts. The libs will gush. The left will moan. Harris's campaign will have sound bites for advertising.
It's not Trump/Clinton. Trump running three times now gives the Harris campaign a lot of info on what to expect out of him. And Harris can shut Trump down without looking elitist.
This is a win-win for Harris. She can handle Trump in either scenario. She's going to exploit his weaknesses either way. By making the hot mic into an issue, it puts 34's aides on edge leading into a debate where their underdog is very bad at playing the part of underdog. Weird DonOLD will be sweating bullets and might even run offstage in a cowardly huff!
So if this is just reverse psychology, does it mean that the Harris campaign literally has to deal with the Trump campaign the same way one does with a toddler?
"Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own.”
— Harris campaign adviser Brian Fallon, quoted by Politico, on Donald Trump threatening to back out of the September 10 debate
Can we please have debates that arent shouting matches? Like, I know one of the candidates is crazy, but it would be nice to have a better formula to stick to next time.
Four mics, always on: one on each podium and one lapel on each of their asses.
Trump's so you can hear it each time Harris makes him literally shit himself. Kamala's so that she can run ads about performing a "clean" debate.
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