Trump and Harris campaigns reach agreement on ABC debate guidelines

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are set to debate each other next week in Philadelphia, after their campaigns agreed to the ground rules set by host network ABC. The format will be the same as the June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, with live microphones for the candidate speaking and muted microphones for the other. Trump has expressed willingness to let Harris talk during the debate, depending on how fair he perceives ABC News to be. The debate will be 90 minutes long without an audience, moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis of ABC News. Both candidates will stand for the entire debate and will not be allowed notes or props. They will have two minutes to answer questions, with two-minute rebuttals and an additional minute for follow-up. The rules mirror the June 27 CNN debate between Trump and Biden. The Harris campaign agreed to the muted microphone rule to avoid jeopardizing the debate. The debate was originally in jeopardy due to disagreements over microphone rules, but was resolved with both campaigns agreeing to ABC’s proposed rules. Trump publicly relented on ABC hosting the debate in a post on Truth Social on Aug. 27. The debate will be a crucial moment for both candidates to present their visions to voters.

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