Harris and Trump campaigns in debate dispute over muting microphones

Washington — As former President Donald Trump suggested Sunday that he may pull out of the scheduled Sept. 10 presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, the two sides are at odds over whether to allow host ABC News to mute the candidates' microphones when it is not their turn to speak.

For the Harris campaign, it believes Trump's and Harris' microphones should be on throughout the debate, the vice president's spokesperson confirmed. But the Trump campaign is pushing for the same rules regarding microphones in place for the first presidential debate, which was a match-up between President Biden and Trump hosted by CNN in June, according to reports.

Mr. Biden exited the presidential race following the debate after his performance raised concerns about his ability to defeat Trump in November and fitness for a second term. But before the face-off, his campaign laid out its parameters for the debates and said the candidates' microphones should be active only when it is his time to speak.