Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will have a debate on September 10 hosted by ABC, but some confusion remains as the candidates argue over its rules. Harris and Trump previously argued over this upcoming September debate after he asked for it to be moved off of ABC, citing a “ridiculous and biased” interview of a Republican senator, and Trump threatened to pull out of the debate. Now it appears the debate will go on—the only question is with or without muted mics.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had reached an agreement with Harris’ campaign on rules for an equitable and fair debate and the “rules will be the same” as they were for his debate against President Joe Biden in June. The candidates will remain standing and cannot bring notes. In the first debate, each candidate's microphone was muted while not answering a moderator question. Trump did not mention the muted microphones in his post. However, Harris’ campaign said she had not agreed to those rules and was still requesting that mics remain on through the entirety of the debate.

  A letter to ABC executives and moderators signed by Former United States Attorney Generals William Barr and Jeff Sessions suggests the debate should include questions about the Supreme Court.

Commentators all seem to agree that this debate is high-stakes for Harris. Some on the left have concluded that she is up to the task, while others have focused on Trump's disruptions leading up to the debate. On the right, some argue that Harris has been shielded from the media, and that will hurt her ability to debate well. 

A column from MSNBC (Left Bias) writer Steve Benen argued that when it comes to his own candidacy, Trump is an unreliable narrator. “As members of his campaign team worked behind the scenes to keep microphones muted during the event, the Republican candidate himself said he didn’t care much either way, necessarily undermining his own team in public…The GOP nominee told the public that the underlying disputes had been resolved, but he apparently made that up, and negotiations over the relevant details are still ongoing.” Benen said, “The former president was desperate to share a stage with Biden, and he appears genuinely afraid of Harris.”

Newsmax Opinion (Right bias) contributor Dick Morris wrote that Democrats are strategically keeping Harris off the debate stage. “It wasn’t until the last possible moment that the Democratic Party forced Joe Biden to pull out of the 2024 race, while beating those early voting drums.” Morris said, “This early voting schedule means that the window for completely understanding who Kamala Harris really is and what makes her tick, is closing only a few short weeks from now.”

For the Washington Post Opinion (Lean Left bias), columnist Matt Bai said, “Given how Harris emerged as the nominee, it’s bound to be one of the most important televised debates in history.” In order to win the debate, he argues, “Harris’s advisers are probably telling her…that the debate is mostly about him…That’s probably why the Harris campaign is pushing for open mics, hoping Trump will lose his composure…This next debate is, in fact, entirely about her — her command of the facts, her demeanor under fire, and, maybe more than anything, her emotional security and tolerance for disagreement.”

Washington Examiner (Lean Right) contributor Sarah Bedford argued that Harris is raising the stakes of the debate by failing to do regular interviews. “Like Biden, she has created a situation in which her performance at the debate will come under an artificially high level of scrutiny because of the relative silence preceding it.” To stand up to Trump, she will have to prove herself, Bedford adds: “Her ability to land a line is one of the only skills she has established. The skill she needs to debut instead is the ability to speak substantively and at length without relying on notecard rhetoric.”