Vice President of Kamala Harris, who is the Democratic candidate for the US presidential election in November, today called on his rival from the Republican Party, Donald Trump, to have both microphones turned on throughout the upcoming televised debate between them, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
Harris and the former president agreed at an ABC News-hosted debate on Sept. 10.
"Donald Trump is giving in to the demands of his advisers, who do not want to allow him to debate with the microphone on. If his own team doesn't trust him, the American people certainly can't, Harris said in a post on the X social network.
"We are running for President of the United States. Let's debate in a transparent way - with microphones on all the time,”, she added.
Trump has said he prefers his microphone to be on all the time, and that he didn't like it being turned off during the last debate against then-presidential contender Joe Biden.
The so-called "hot microphones“, i.e. constantly on, can help or hurt political candidates and capture comments that are sometimes not intended for the audience. Mute microphones also prevent debaters from interrupting their opponent, Reuters notes.
An ABC representative did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The debate will be the first time Harris and Trump have gone head-to-head since Biden dropped out of the presidential race after a lackluster performance at a CNN debate in June that raised questions about his mental acuity.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and his Republican opponent JD Vance will hold a debate on CBS on October 1, according to Reuters.