President Trump told reporters on Monday that he had wanted to keep his microphone on during the debate, but that it “worked out” when he went on stage with Biden and went with it muted.
“We agreed to the same rules and the same specifications, and that's probably the way it should be, but they're trying to change that,” he said. “The truth is, they're trying to avoid it because she doesn't want to debate. She's not a good debater.”
In a statement to Politico, the Trump campaign repeated the former president's accusations that Harris was looking for a way out of the debate.
“Enough with the games. We accepted the ABC debate on the same terms as the CNN debate,” Trump senior adviser Jason Miller told Politico. “The Harris camp had already agreed to the CNN rules and asked for a seated debate with notes and opening remarks. We said, ‘There’s no change to the agreed upon rules.’”
Asked about the Trump campaign's claims, a Harris campaign official said they were “100 percent false,” according to CBS News.
President Trump appeared on his Truth Social platform on Sunday and questioned whether ABC News reporters moderating the debate would pass along questions to the Harris campaign in advance.
He wrote, “Why should I debate Kamala Harris on that show?”
This isn’t the first time the former president has suggested he might back out of a debate. Earlier this month, Trump said he would debate Harris only if the debate was on Fox News. He reversed course a few days later.
Meanwhile, as the Nov. 5 election approaches, Harris’ campaign has raised $540 million since Biden dropped out, the AP reported. Harris has posted record fundraising numbers since Biden dropped out of the race.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign raised $138.7 million in July and has $327 million in cash on hand.
