WASHINGTON: Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for the US presidential election in November, on Saturday asked her Republican rival Donald Trump to debate her with the microphones on throughout the event.
Harris and the former president agreed to participate in a debate, organized by ABC NewsSeptember 10th.
“Donald Trump is bowing down to his advisers who won't let him debate with a live microphone. If his own team doesn't have confidence in him, the American people definitely can't,” Harris said in a post on X.
“We are running for president of the United States. Let's debate in a transparent manner, with the microphones on all the time.”
Trump has said he preferred to have his microphone on and did not like being muted during the last debate against then-challenger President Joe Biden.
So-called “hot mics” can help or hurt political candidates by picking up off-the-cuff remarks that were sometimes not intended for the audience. Muted microphones also prevent participants from interrupting their opponent.
A representative of alphabet did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The debate would be the first time Harris and Trump have faced each other since Biden dropped out of the presidential race after a poor showing in a CNN debate in June that raised questions about his mental acuity.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz and Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance have agreed to a debate on October 1 on CBS News.
