Trump and Harris Argue Over ABC Debate

Donald Trump asked for an upcoming debate to be moved off of ABC, citing a "ridiculous and biased" interview of a Republican senator. Kamala Harris requested a rule change to keep mics on continuously.

The Details: After ABC (Lean Left bias) aired an interview with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK), Trump criticized the network and implied he does not want ABC to host the debate with Harris scheduled for September 10. Harris recently declined Trump's request for an additional debate on Fox News (Right bias).

• "Will panelist Donna Brazil [sic] give the questions to the Marxist Candidate like she did for Crooked Hillary Clinton?" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Will Kamala’s best friend, who heads up ABC, do likewise."
  • "Kamala's best friend" refers to Dana Walden, a co-chair of ABC's parent company Disney who oversees its television and streaming business and is close friends with Harris.

Meanwhile, the Harris team asked to reverse a rule used in the Biden-Trump debate that candidates' mics are muted when not answering a moderator question. Trump's campaign also claimed the Harris team requested that candidates be allowed to use notes.

• At a press conference, Trump said that he'd prefer unmuted mics but complained about the timing of the rule change request.
• The Harris campaign responded by telling Newsweek (Center bias) they believe Trump's "handlers...don't think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own."

How the Media Covered It: Portrayal of the candidates' disagreement fell along familiar partisan lines: left media painted Trump as petty and indecisive, while right media painted Harris as unable to speak effectively without help. Washington Free Beacon (Right bias) flipped the left media's framing of the story by inaccurately describing Harris' requests for rule changes as attempts to "back out." Politico (Lean Left bias) noted that Trump's current position is "at odds" with his "demand" during the 2020 debates that mics stay on.