WASHINGTON: Vice President and the Democratic nominee in the US presidential election Kamala Harris called on her Republican rival Donald Trump on Saturday to debate her with their microphones switched on throughout the event.

Kamala Harris and Trump both have agreed to a debate, hosted by ABC News, on Sept 10.

“Donald Trump is surrendering to his advisors who won’t allow him to debate with a live microphone. If his own team doesn’t have confidence in him, the American people definitely can’t,” she said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“We are running for President of the United States. Let’s debate in a transparent way with the microphones on the whole time.”

Trump has already said that he preferred to have his microphone kept on and that he did not like it muted during the last debate against then-contender President Joe Biden.

So-called “hot mics” can help or hurt political candidates, catching off-hand comments that sometimes were not meant for the public. Muted microphones also prevent the debaters from interrupting their opponent.

A representative for ABC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The September 10 debate would be the first time Kamala Harris and Trump face off since Biden dropped out of the presidential race following a poor performance at a CNN debate in June that raised doubts about his mental acuity.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance have agreed to an Oct 1 debate on CBS News.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2024