Is the debate set or not?

IS THE DEBATE SET OR NOT? Have you noticed that we still have not heard from both sides that the ABC News debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, scheduled for Sept. 10 in Philadelphia, is absolutely, totally on? Trump has said it is, but the Harris side has avoided saying that she has totally agreed to terms. Which means that, 12 days out, the only possible debate of the 2024 presidential campaign — Trump has agreed to several, but so far Harris will only consider one — is still not absolutely set in stone.

To judge by what is said in public, the issue between the two sides is microphones. It would probably be a little more accurate to say that the microphone issue is real, but it is also a stand-in for all sorts of other agendas at work between the two sides.

Before a group of powerful, secretive Democratic insiders forced President Joe Biden out of the race, Biden and Trump had agreed to two debates, including the Sept. 10 faceoff. Trump agreed to the condition, pressed by Biden, that each candidate's microphone would be turned off when he was not speaking. That followed the 2020 debate when Trump interrupted Biden constantly, so much so that it alienated many viewers. In the aftermath, Trump knew he had made a mistake and when Biden, who knew that in his aged, infirm state he could not handle Trump's quickness, sought the muted mic agreement, Trump said yes. Each candidate had his own reason.

Then came the Big Switch and the instant elevation of Harris to Democratic nominee. Harris had different considerations, and her staff quickly displayed an aggressive, gaslighting style. She announced that the Sept. 10 debate Trump had agreed to with Biden was now automatically an agreement for a Harris-Trump debate. If Trump didn't go along — and he never had an agreement to debate Harris — then he would be "backing out" of the debate he had committed to. Of course, Trump had not committed to a debate with Harris, but many in the media went along and spoke of Trump as "backing out" of a debate he had never agreed to.

An example: Axios reported that "when former President Trump suggested he might back out of the September 10 debate, the Harris campaign posted sound effects of squawking, whining chickens, layered over video of Trump speaking. Another tweet featured a flock of chicken emojis."

Obviously, the debate became an opportunity for the Harris campaign to troll the Trump team. That is politics these days. But in addition to the schoolyard jeering, Harris was also pressing Trump to agree to rules he had never agreed to with Biden. Given all the chicken emojis, it was a pretty brazen tactic. First Harris argued that Trump was reneging on the debate deal that he and Biden, but not Harris, had agreed to. Then Harris tried to change the specifics of that deal by saying there should be no cutting off of microphones — and the argument for the change was that Harris was never party to the Trump-Biden deal! That's chutzpah.

There was more. "Trump should honor his commitment to debate VP Harris on ABC on September 10 and he should reject his handlers' attempts to muzzle him via a muted microphone," posted Harris spokesman Brian Fallon. "The VP is ready to debate Trump live and uncensored. Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button."

The Harris team's theory, apparently, is that Trump cannot keep himself from constantly interrupting on the debate stage, which will 1) make him look bad and 2) give Harris the opportunity to remind him, "I'm speaking," with the implication that he is disrespecting her. In any event, the muted mic issue, a feature that actually made the Biden-Trump debate better, became a hill that the Harris campaign was ready to die on. Or maybe not, because no one said anything clearly and out loud.

A few days ago, Trump announced on Truth Social that everything was a go. "I have reached an agreement with the Radical Left Democrats for a debate with Comrade Kamala Harris," Trump wrote. "The rules will be the same as the last CNN debate, which seemed to work out well for everyone except, perhaps, Crooked Joe Biden."

Did that mean the microphone issue was resolved? Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski appeared on MSNBC and was asked whether both sides had resolved the microphone dispute. "I think everything has been settled, and we look forward to this opportunity," Lewandowski said. On the other hand, Trump himself said during a campaign appearance that he didn't care.

At the same time, Harris adviser Mitch Landrieu also appeared on MSNBC and was asked if the Harris campaign had signed off on a microphone agreement. "If the microphones stay on, people are going to hear what he says," Landrieu answered. "If they stay off, he's going to yell and scream anyway. He's an uncontrollable guy. He's unhinged. Rather than talking about the microphones, we ought to continue to talk about the fact that Donald Trump evidently does not see reality."

Did you see an answer in that? No, because there wasn't one.

So where do things stand now? At midday on Thursday, the issue appeared to be resolved when ABC's debate rules leaked to the press. The candidates' microphones will not be live when they are not speaking, the rules say — a victory for Trump. But don't look for the larger debate controversy to end completely. Trump has always liked to create suspense before a big event — it's part of his natural showmanship — and Harris and her aides are proving to be world-class trolls. So both sides are happy with some level of public uncertainty. Don't look for the show to stop anytime soon.