The Harris-Walz strategy unfavorably accepted the guidelines for the upcoming debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Wednesday, but it later admitted they were unhappy with the rules that had been agreed upon.
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” Vice President Harris, a former counsel, will be ultimately disadvantaged by this format, which may serve to protect Donald Trump from immediate exchanges with the Vice President”, Brian Fallon, top communications adviser for the Harris campaign, wrote in a letter to ABC News Wednesday. ” We suspect this is the main reason for his administration’s emphasis on subdued speakers”.
On Wednesday, ABC News revealed the conversation rules and acknowledged that both activities had agreed to them.
When the member has a turn speaking, microphones will only be available for the applicant, and they will be muted when the candidate has time. Questions will only be posing for the administrators.
Former President Trump won the coin toss and chose the purchase of the closing remarks after a penny spin on Tuesday, which was conducted in total to determine the floor selection and the purchase of the closing statements. The former president will offer the last closing statement, and Vice President Harris selected the right podium position on screen, i. e., stage left.
There will be no opening statements, and closing statements will be two minutes per candidate.
Each candidate will be allotted two minutes to answer each question with a two-minute rebuttal, and an additional minute for a follow-up, clarification, or response.  ,
No props or pre-written notes will be permitted on stage during the debate, and candidates will remain behind podiums for the duration of the debate. Each candidate will be given a pen, a pad of paper, and a bottle of water.
Campaign staff members are prohibited from speaking with candidates during commercial breaks.
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Despite these guidelines, CNN reports that ABC News might be willing to veer from the law to assist Kamala in the debate.
According to the source familiar, the network has assured the Harris campaign that if there is significant cross-talk between Harris and Trump, it may choose to turn on the microphones so that the public can be informed of what is happening, that the moderator would stop either candidate from repeatedly interrupting, and that the moderator would also work to explain what is being said to viewers.
Pool reporters, who can report on what they hear both sides saying, will also be in the room, the source added.
ABC News, however, denies this. Beyond the debate rules published today, which were mutually agreed upon by two campaigns on May 15, a spokesperson told CNN.
It should be noted, however, that a top executive at ABC News is a longtime friend and donor of Kamala Harris.
According to the New York Times in August,” the potential for a conflict of interest appears obvious: ABC News, the host of the high-stakes presidential debate, is a top corporate executive at Disney who happens to be a long-time friend of the Democratic nominee.” ” The executive, Dana Walden, first met Kamala Harris in 1994. Their husbands, Matt Walden and Doug Emhoff, have known each other since the 1980s”.
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The Waldens — “extraordinary friends”, per the vice president— have donated money to Ms. Harris’s political campaigns since at least 2003, when she ran for district attorney in San Francisco.
” In many ways, Dana and Matt are responsible for my marriage”, Ms. Harris joked at a fund-raiser in April 2022 at the Waldens ‘ home in Brentwood, a wealthy Los Angeles enclave where Ms. Harris and Mr. Emhoff also own a residence. The Waldens, Vice President Harris explained, set up a couple who in turn had set her up with Mr. Emhoff on a blind date.
