“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.”
2024 GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump revealed on Tuesday that both sides have reached an agreement for the rules of ABC News' presidential debate that will take place on September 10 in Philadelphia. The rules are the same as the ones set forth for the CNN debate in June, and reject the demands of the Kamala Harris campaign for a sit-down debate with notes.
"I have reached an agreement with the Radical Left Democrats for a Debate with Comrade Kamala Harris. It will be Broadcast Live on ABC FAKE NEWS, by far the nastiest and most unfair newscaster in the business, on Tuesday, September 10th, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania," Trump wrote. "The Rules will be the same as the last CNN Debate, which seemed to work out well for everyone except, perhaps, Crooked Joe Biden."
"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 (No Donna Brazile!). Harris would not agree to the Fox News Debate on September 4th, but that date will be held open in case she changes her mind or, Flip Flops, as she has done on every single one of her long held and cherished policy beliefs. A possible third Debate, which would go to NBC FAKE NEWS, has not been agreed to by the Radical Left. GOD BLESS AMERICA!"
As negotiations on the ruleset for the debate continued, Trump said "The truth is they're trying to get out of it because she doesn't want to debate. She's not a good debater. She's not a smart person. She doesn't want to debate."
Trump said that his team had agreed to the same rules that were in place at the June CNN debate that ultimately led to Joe Biden’s demise. "We agreed to the same rules. Same rules, and same specifications, and I think that's probably what it should be, but they're trying to change it."
In addition to notes and a seated debate, Harris’ campaign had stated that she wants "hot mics" in order to catch things Trump says during the debate. "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," said campaign senior comms adviser Brian Fallon.
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