Trump, Harris campaigns clash over debate rules: 'We said no changes'
The Donald Trump and Kamala Harris campaigns traded barbs Monday over debate rules Monday, with the former accusing the latter of playing "games" as Harris' team seeks to make microphones live throughout the event.
After Trump suggested in a Truth Social post that he might skip the ABC debate on Sept. 10 in Philadelphia, spokesman Jason Miller said the Harris campaign was trying to change the set-up of the debate that had already been laid out.
"Enough with the games," Trump spokesperson Jason Miller told Fox News Digital in a statement. "We accepted the ABC debate under the exact same terms as the CNN debate."
36 DAYS: VP HARRIS REFUSES TO REVEAL POLICY POSITIONS, GIVE NEWS CONFERENCES OR INTERVIEWS
Miller did not directly answer whether Trump would be present at the September debate, instead criticizing the Harris campaign for trying to avoid a debate with the former president.
"The Harris camp, after having already agreed to the CNN rules, asked for a seated debate, with notes, and opening statements. We said no changes to the agreed upon rules," Miller wrote. "If Kamala Harris isn’t smart enough to repeat the messaging points her handlers want her to memorize, that’s their problem. This seems to be a pattern for the Harris campaign. They won’t allow Harris to do interviews, they won’t allow her to do press conferences, and now they want to give her a cheat-sheet for the debate. My guess is that they’re looking for a way to get out of any debate with President Trump. Regardless, there’s no way Harris is ready to be Commander in Chief."
Fox News Digital reached out to ABC for comment.
Miller's comments come after Trump bashed ABC News for its interview with Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on Sunday.
"I watched ABC FAKE NEWS this morning, both lightweight reporter Jonathan Carl’s(K?) ridiculous and biased interview of Tom Cotton (who was fantastic!), and their so-called Panel of Trump Haters, and I ask, why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?" Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday night.
Cotton clashed with ABC News' Jonathan Karl over Harris' previous support for Medicare-for-all on Saturday. Karl pressed Cotton about his criticism of Harris' previous support for eliminating private health insurance as part of her ‘Medicare-for-all’ push during her 2019 presidential campaign.
"Will panelist Donna Brazil give the questions to the Marxist Candidate like she did for Crooked Hillary Clinton? Will Kamala’s best friend, who heads up ABC, do likewise," Trump wrote, presumably referring to Disney TV chief Dana Walden, a close friend of Harris. "Where is Liddle’ George Slopadopolus hanging out now? Will he be involved. They’ve got a lot of questions to answer!!!"
TRUMP BLASTS HARRIS AS PART OF TRUTH SOCIAL FLURRY ON WHAT SHE 'DIDN'T MENTION' IN DNC SPEECH
The Harris campaign also responded to the dispute over the debate rules.
Harris campaign senior advisor, Brian Fallon, said that ABC and other networks should encourage both Trump and Harris to keep their mics on throughout the entirety of the debate.
"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," Fallon said. "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.The Vice President is ready to deal with Trump’s constant lies and interruptions in real time. Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button."
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser and Yael Halon contributed to this report.