Comedian Ron White used to tell a story about being arrested for public intoxication, saying "I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
This seems like the same thing playing out in real life. All Donald has to do is not talk when it isn't his turn, and his team is afraid that's beyond his ability.
But the goal isn't just to convince people that you're better than the other candidate --- it's to convince sympathetic people to get out and vote for you, and if not that, then at least not vote for the other.
I think people are largely decided on who they are not voting for, but who they are voting for is a bit different.
There have been enough reports of Trump privately calling Kamala a b*tch that there's a strong possibility he could snap and use that word if she starts to embarrass him. There's also a non-zero chance of him using some other slur or just saying weird racist things
I’m willing to bet that’s the goal on Harris’ part. The Democrats have finally found that the way to unravel him is just belittle him rather than giving him any measure of power. If the debate goes forward unmuted, she just has to be dismissive and call him weird/old/whatever and I guarantee he’ll fly off the handle.
It would galvanize his base but they’re already a lost cause. Him having a racist/sexist outburst on live TV and Harris handling it like an adult would only help her campaign.
He was able to keep it contained against Hillary back in the day and just called her a "nasty woman". He will have no such restraint with Harris. I'm expecting him to say he will "see you next Tuesday", like he did with that lawyer. It's the type of thing an edgy twelve year old would say, which is why I expect him to say it.
I am sure that she has studied everything that he said about Clinton and all of his tactics and is just ready to tear him apart. That said I suspect his plan will be just to talk solidly and not give anyone a chance to say anything. The more noise he puts up and doesn't answer any questions The less that he can get into trouble.
I also suspect if it starts going poorly for him he just walks off stage.
I also suspect if it starts going poorly for him he just walks off stage.
That would be great! Imagine the commercials:
[showing a clip of Trump storming off stage] "Do you want a president that runs away when things get difficult or do you want a leader?" [cut to Harris dominating the debate]
Muted mics make him look like he's being civil and letting Harris talk.
Hot mic presents two interesting possibilities:
He tries on his "low IQ" and "she suddenly decided to be black" attack lines and Harris calls him out so he looks like a fucking asshole to the average voter.
He DOESNT try on his "low IQ" and "she suddenly decided to be black" attack lines and Harris calls back to her "say it to my face" line and paints him as a weak coward for the rest of the campaign.
It doesn’t matter what he says, we’ve heard it all before. He’s a one-trick pony.
The problem is that he’s going to gish gallop and lead the conversation by trying to get Harris to be the one trying to disprove all his bullshit. It’s a major MO in republican discussion to spew bullshit in bad faith that wastes the time of the opponent who is attempting to have an actual conversation and tries to reasonably refute the bullshit. The bullshit is reductionist, sensationalist, and full of feels, so it gets attention vs. the actual facts which tend to be the exact opposite. Trump will absolutely talk all over her, interrupt, and just be an asshole.
So trump’s mic should absolutely be shut off. He wastes time and opportunity for Harris to state her platform.
Plus, I think being unable to be heard really pisses him off. So I’m all for that, too.
It clearly isn't her plan to refute his lies and lend credence to the ridiculous things he says. It's probably to say "what? That doesn't even make sense .... Lol he's still talking.... Haha he just keeps ranting and those aren't even words." Or something. I obviously don't know her exact plan but she understands that standing there trying to fact check him won't work.
Her campaign team was there to know what Trump was saying when the mic was off during the last debate with Biden. I think they likely have some great insider information on top of the basic strategy. I think they know from experience, not just theory, that he just isn't in control of himself enough to go that long without embarrassing/racist/misogynistic/whatever outbursts.
I really hope this is true because when I first heard of this "dilemma" I was kinda mad. My thought was we just argued FOR this and now we want out? Wtf do we have to gain from letting Mr.Shitforspeech run his mouth indefinitely?
Honestly fantastic choice. The more he talks over people and interrupts, the more unhinged and insensible he appears to the average voter. Political commentator I watch regularly has been saying this for months to leave his mic on at the debate rather than mute him.
I dunno, it's going to become just two people talking over each other, and completely useless for viewers. But if she can get under his skin, that'd be awesome.
I didn't know about the muted mics at the last debate so when I saw all the highlights I was surprised how calm and respectful Trump was to Biden. I couldn't understand it, I thought maybe he was being kind and had some sympathy to Biden due to his ill state at the time.
But then I remembered who the F he is and now I know his mic was muted it all makes sense. I'm surprised he didn't just try shouting anyway over the muted mic.
But just watching those highlights in isolation without that knowledge it almost...... kinda almost made him seem human.
So definitely, unmute the mics so we see the real Trump and let him implode.
That's what everyone was saying prior to the 2016 debates, but despite shouting over Hillary constantly those were at best a tie but more likely a Trump win on balance.
I'm not saying it can't work, but Harris needs to be able to control the room and put Trump in his place by force of personality alone. She needs to bite back and shut him down successfully, and that's not all that easy to do.
Taking the high road and "letting him make a fool out of himself" is not gonna work out the way they want.
I thought he should stay in the race because I also thought the Democrats were incapable of immediately coalescing behind another single candidate. If I had know they were capable of it, I would have been all for it.
I was telling people we don't really have a choice, since it's ultimately something he gets to decide. I was surprised that he turned the pressure campaign into a fait accompli for Harris - which I doubt was the response they were hoping for.
Except McCain still has more character in his dead pinky toe than Trump has in his entire body. For example, McCain told a lady to her face that Obama wasn't a secret Muslim, and called for unity and respect in his concession speech.
I don't know. I remember the last time I watched a debate that included Trump and his mic was unmuted. It was completely impossible to follow anything that way said from either candidate. Trump loves chaos, and an unmuted mic enabled him to create chaos.
Trump has cognitively declined since 2016 and is increasingly incoherent and nasty. I think the Dems are gambling that many voters aren't watching his stump appearances so this is a good way to expose him to voters.
I think its too big a gamble and mute him. I think he will expose himself enough on his own turns to speak.
I just hope none of this is being planned with the idea that it’ll change the opinion of his most ardent supporters, because he’s said a lot of incoherent and nasty things, and it doesn’t appear to have hurt his chances. Hell, those most negatively impacted by his policies are lining up to vote for him again, to “save” the nation. What are words in the face of that?
Came here to say this. How will they shut him up? The people who came to hear him talk will want to hear his word salad gospel, no matter how long he yammers for. She won't be able to get a word in.
And based on what happened with Hillary Clinton, there should also perhaps be a demand that he stay put at his lectern and not be allowed to walk around the stage/behind her...
The more he talks, the less time they will have to ask questions and the less likely foreign policy will come up in an environment where "shut up" isn't met with cheers.
That's already what the Trump team is demanding. They want to have mics muted because they realized how much better it made Trump look at the Biden debate.
I think it's because she knows he'll say some outlandish shit when it's muted and she wants to make sure that when he forgets that he has a live mic, it's all on tape.
Actually I heard this was happening with the Biden debate. No wonder he looked confused when an idiot is standing next to you screaming. I have to say, I hadn’t considered that issue before.
yup. basically she wants his crazy on full display.
I'm not sure it'll work in her favor, but, uh. it's one way to counter the gish gallop. Just hand them the mic and then mock them later for being a lunatic.
Yeah, that's the strategy of the media ever since he came down that stupid gold escalator in 2015. So far, hanging on his every word has only helped him.
"The VP is ready to debate Trump live and uncensored," Harris' advisor Brian Fallon wrote on X on Monday. "Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button."
Fallon suggested that Trump's campaign would not agree to that condition, writing that Trump "should reject his handlers' attempts to muzzle him via a muted microphone."
That's the only way it's a good idea. Otherwise, he'll just keep interrupting her throughout the whole thing and she won't be able to get a word in edgewise.
Yes she's a former prosecutor and thus used to argue for a living but that was a) a long time ago and b) in a highly regulated setting where there's serious consequences for breaking decorum.
In a "debate" on a for-profit yellow media outlet, he's not going to be held in check by the moderator(s) or anyone else and even though most if not all of his blathering is going to be lies, he's likely going to win by default for being "high energy" or whatever bullshit the corrupt pundit class comes up with to spin his lunacy and childish bullying as a show of strength.