Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump repeatedly griped about each other Tuesday night in off-microphone remarks captured by reporters attending the presidential debate.
When Ms. Harris claimed that Mr. Trump doesn’t have an economic plan for the working class, the former president muttered off-mic, “That’s just a soundbite. They gave her that to say.”
But Ms. Harris raised a similar complaint when Mr. Trump blasted President Biden’s funding of computer chip manufacturing in the U.S.
When Mr. Trump said that the U.S. no longer makes computer chips, Ms. Harris said off-mic, “Not true. That’s not true.”
Later, when Mr. Trump said Democrats want abortion access in the ninth month of pregnancy, Ms. Harris said off-mic, “C’mon,” “no” and “that’s not true.”
And Mr. Trump appeared irritated when Ms. Harris spoke off-mic during another one of his answers on defending the police. He paused, looked at her for one of the few times in the debate, and said, “I’m talking now, if you don’t mind. Does that sound familiar?” It was a reminder of her “I’m speaking” line that she uttered against then-Vice President Mike Pence in their debate in 2020.
Whether or not the microphones would be muted when the time belongs to another candidate was a hotly contested issue ahead of the debate. Both campaigns agreed that microphones would be live only for the candidate whose turn it is to speak, and muted when the other candidate speaks. Microphones may be unmuted if there is significant crosstalk, under the rules.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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