Former President Donald Trump was called out after claiming to reporters that Vice President Kamala Harris doesn't want to debate him because she's "not a smart person"—words that prompted his critics to accuse him of some serious projection.
After initially agreeing to a second debate with President Joe Biden in September, Trump announced in a statement via spokesperson Steven Cheung that he was backing out of the commitment, claiming that "general election debate details cannot be finalized until Democrats formally decide on their nominee."
Trump had previously claimed he "would debate “ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE" but has reneged on that pledge now that Biden has dropped out of the race. Cheung himself said "it would be inappropriate to schedule things with Harris because Democrats very well could still change their minds."
Harris has called on Trump to "meet me on the debate stage" on September 10 and stressed that if he's "got something to say, say it to my face," a remark that prompted those in attendance at a lively Atlanta rally to roar enthusiastically and wave signs emblazoned with Harris's name and campaign slogans.
Now, with just two weeks until the event, he attacked Harris's intelligence when asked if he wants "the microphones muted" during the event "whenever [he's] not speaking:
"We agreed to the same rules. I don't know. It doesn't matter to me. I'd rather have it probably on, but the agreement was it would be the same as it was last time. In that case, it was muted."
"I didn't like it the last time but it worked out fine. Ask Biden how it worked out. It was fine and I think it should be the same. We agreed to the same rules: same rules and specifications."
"I think that's probably what it should be but they're trying to change it. The truth is they're trying to get out of it because she doesn't want to debate. She's not a good debater, she's not a smart person. She doesn't want to debate."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
People immediately mocked Trump for suggesting he's smarter than Harris—especially when he's the one who has refused to commit to a debate.
Overnight negotiations regarding the rules for the Sept. 10 debate reached a deadlock, partly due to a disagreement over the use of live microphones.
Trump campaign advisor Jason Miller stated that both campaigns had already agreed to debate rules similar to those used during the June CNN debate between Trump and Biden, which featured muted microphones at the request of Biden's team. Miller also claimed that the Harris campaign asked for candidates to be seated during the debate and allowed to have notes.
Miller also openly questioned Harris's intelligence, saying that if she "isn’t smart enough to repeat the messaging points her handlers want her to memorize, that’s their problem."
Brian Fallon, a spokesman for the Harris campaign, claimed that Trump’s team prefers the candidates' microphones to be muted while the other is speaking "because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own."
Harris's campaign has expressed a preference for "hot mics" so "the American people can see both candidates for who they are and hear everything that comes out of their mouths," per Michael Tyler, the campaign's communications director.
@teamtalaricohq/Bluesky
@MoeJLong/X
@kellyosbourne/Instagram
@variety/Instagram
@GovPressOffice/X