Dem
51
GOP
49
There was yet another debate-related dustup yesterday. Bear with us, because this one had so many strange twists and turns, it was like a telenovela.
The proximate cause of the latest dispute is microphones—specifically, whether or not they will be "hot" at all times. In the first twist of the day, the "sides" of the argument are likely not what you think. Advocating for the hot-at-all-times position is... the Harris campaign. Advocating for the only-on-when-the-candidate-is-speaking is... the Trump campaign.
The thinking here is plain. Given what happened with Joe Biden, the Democrats realize that they did Trump a huge favor by imposing discipline on him. On top of that, Kamala Harris' very best moment of her debate with VP Mike Pence, back in 2020, was when Pence tried to talk over her and she pursed her lips and said: "Excuse me, Mr. Vice President. I'm speaking here." The dynamics of one man behaving disrespectfully toward another man are, perhaps, not so bad. The dynamics of an old white guy behaving disrespectfully toward a younger woman of color could be very bad, indeed. Both sides realize this.
Once this point of disagreement emerged, the Trump campaign accused the Harris campaign of re-negotiating on the fly. This is true, although it should be noted that the shut-the-microphones-off thing was negotiated by the Biden campaign, not the Harris campaign. Meanwhile, the Harris campaign accused the Trump campaign of trying to protect Trump from his worst impulses, because he cannot control himself on his own. This is also true.
There were reports during the day yesterday that not only was the Trump campaign demanding the microphones be shut off when not in use, but that they were keeping this demand a secret from... Trump. Their concern, which is not unreasonable, was that he would flip his lid, or that he would be goaded into agreeing to Harris' demands, or both. It's hard to know if this is true, since the story developed so quickly. If it is true, it's another telenovela-style twist.
In any case, eventually Trump did become aware of the ongoing discussion, and he waded in (as his handlers apparently feared he would do), and answered a reporter's question about the microphones: "I don't know—doesn't matter to me. I'd rather have it probably on." The Harris campaign jumped on that, and promptly declared that an agreement had been reached, and that the microphones would be on, unless Trump "allows his handlers to overrule him." Do you think that Team Harris is pretty good at playing Trump like a fiddle?
In comments later in the day, Trump somewhat implied that he's still considering whether he wants to attend the debate, and opined that Harris needs the event more than he does. We think that is incorrect; if they debate, they debate, while if they don't debate, it will look like Trump was afraid and pushed the eject button. It's a couple of weeks until we find out for sure. (Z)