Trump threatens to skip ABC debate amid network bias accusations

The U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump criticized ABC, the network scheduled to host the debate on September 10.

Trump said that ABC is "the single worst network for unfairness" - said Trump, adding that "I think ABC really should be shut out." The day before, he attacked the network similarly on his social media platform Truth Social, asking why he should debate against Kamala Harris on this network.

Politico and other media outlets reported that both campaign teams are arguing about the debate's rules, which will take place in Philadelphia. The main issue is whether the hosts will have the ability to mute the candidates' microphones, as was the case during the Trump-Biden debate on CNN on June 27. Harris' team wants the microphones to remain on at all times, while Trump's team prefers to continue with the option to mute the microphones.

"Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own," - said Harris' team in a statement.

When asked about this on Monday, Trump stated he personally would prefer the microphones to be on all the time but acknowledged that both teams had previously agreed to two debates under the same rules.

The ABC debate in Philadelphia is the only scheduled televised showdown between the candidates so far. Since Harris became the Democratic presidential candidate, Trump has suggested several times that he might withdraw from the ABC debate, proposing showdowns on Fox News and CNN instead. He also praised CNN, the organizer of the first debate, which led to President Biden withdrawing. The network faced criticism for not addressing the candidates' false statements and distortions.