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Trump campaign reveals list of debate demands made by Kamala Harris' team... and whether they have agreed on a major issue
Amid a bitter public battle over whether microphones will be muted during the first debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the former president's team now reveals that his Democratic opponent wanted to change other aspects of their showdown.
Trump Senior Advisor Corey Lewandowski told reporters on a call Thursday morning that Harris' team tried to pressure ABC News into altering logistics of the debate to benefit her.
For one, the vice president wanted to be able to bring notes on stage – something very atypical of a presidential debate that comes as Republicans claim the VP won't perform well off script.
The 5' 4' candidate also wanted to be seated instead of standing behind respective podiums against the 6' 3' former president, Lewandowski revealed.
But the Harris-Walz campaign told DailyMail.com that the latest claims from the Trump camp are false.
Kamala Harris didn't just want to unmute the mics – she also wanted to be able to have notes and be seated for her first interview with Donald Trump on September 10
Most well-known has been the disagreement over the muting of microphones when it isn't the candidates' turn to answer a question or rebuttal their rival, which many saw as a benefit to the ex-president during his debate with President Joe Biden earlier this summer.
But the absence of notes, stage set up and microphone muting will all remain consistent with the June CNN debate between Trump and Biden.
With just 12 days until the debate on September 10 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it appears the Harris camp has agreed to the final terms with reports of rules coming out on Thursday.
Like the CNN debate, there will be no audience, which denies candidates the chance to try to score prohibited applause with zingers. Props and pre-written notes are not permitted to stage.
Candidates will receive a blank paper, pen and a water bottle.
The two ABC moderators are David Muir and Linsey Davis.
The rules allow for two-minute answers from the candidates. An additional minute is allowed for follow-ups and rebuttals.
When Harris was still running for reelection as vice president with Biden leading the ticket, her campaign agreed with Trump's team and ABC News to the rules set forth previously, which included muted microphones.
But Lewandowski says Harris wants accommodations now because her team is not 'confident' in her ability to go off script and debate Trump without a crutch.
It comes after the vice president went 38 days without sitting for a formal interview or holding a press conference after entering the 2024 race as a presidential candidate. The VP will finally sit Thursday afternoon for an interview with CNN's Dana Bash – but her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is joining her for the sit-down.
Asked if the microphone debacle was finally to bed, Lewandowski told reporters on a press call Thursday morning: 'Yeah, we've worked that out.'
'When we originally negotiated the rules of the debate, those rules were discussed, negotiated and agreed to by at the time what was the Biden-Harris campaign,' he explained. 'That included the vice presidential debate, which [Harris] was supposed to participate in, until they threw Joe out like a dog and… coordinated her to the presidential nomination.'
'Here's what happened, though,' he continued. 'Kamala Harris's team came back and said, 'We want to sit for the debate. We don't want to stand anymore. We'd like to bring notes to the debate because we don't feel confident in our ability to actually answer questions without notes. Oh, and we want to leave the microphones on.'
'None of those things have been agreed to previously, and we're holding them to account for the same criteria that we used when we negotiated with then the Biden-Harris campaign, because that's what she agreed to as the vice presidential nominee and the vice presidential debate process.'
Trump's Senior Advisor Corey Lewandowski revealed the requests that Harris' team put forward when trying to renegotiate rules and logistics of the debate after previously agreeing to the terms when she was still running for reelection as vice president
Trump wants the rules to remain the same as they were for the CNN debate in Atlanta, Georgia in June when he dominate over President Joe Biden
He assured that the 90-minute debate will have the candidates standing without pre-written notes and microphone muting.
'That's what has been agreed to, ABC has agreed. That's where it will be in just over a week.'
Trump and his Republican allies claim that Harris is not able to perform well without prepared remarks or notes to guide her. They use her delay of an interview or press conference for over a month as proof of her team's lack of confidence in her ability to go off script and her historic issue with likability.
CNN host Dana Bash is sitting down with Harris Thursday afternoon for her first interview as the presidential candidate. It will air later on Thursday night.
Lewandowski says Bash has an 'obligation… to ask Kamala Harris the tough questions that she's been avoiding since her coronation as a Democratic nominee.'
Meanwhile, Harris' campaign has leaned into Trump pressing for microphone muting as a sign his handlers don't think the ex-president can control himself during a debate.
'We have told ABC and other networks seeking to host a possible October debate that we believe both candidates' mics should be live throughout the full broadcast,' Harris' senior advisor for communications Brian Fallon said in a statement this week.
'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,' he continued.
'The Vice President is ready to deal with Trump's constant lies and interruptions in real time. Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button.'
Trump said this week that his campaign 'reached an agreement' with Harris and ABC to keep mics muted.