Trump says Kamala's 'trying to get out of' debating him as rules negotiations drag on

The debate rules are not yet set for the one presidential debate that Vice President Kamala Harris' team agreed to, and for Trump, this back-and-forth, this trying to change up the rules, indicates that Harris "doesn't want to debate" and that her campaign is "trying to get out of it."

"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.

In 2020, Kamala Harris debated Mike Pence, as the two represented their respective party's ticket. They sat at desks, and they had notes that they were able to refer to. Reports emerged on Monday that this may be what Harris is seeking in her debate against Trump, set for ABC on Sept. 10.

In addition to notes and a seated debate, Harris’ campaign has 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.

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."

Jason Miller, Trump's campaign spokesperson, said of the ongoing rule negotiations, "Enough with the games. We accepted the ABC debate under the exact same terms as the CNN debate. 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."

"If Kamala Harris isn’t smart enough to repeat the messaging points her handlers want her to memorize, that’s their problem," Miller said. "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."

As the parties look to set rules for the debate, reports have revealed that Harris has tapped Google defense lawyer Karen Dunn to help prepare for the debate, during the same time Dunn, who is Google's outside counsel through the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, is the lead attorney defending Google against a lawsuit from the Biden-Harris administration.