Kamala Harris came out of the Democratic National Convention last week with a small lead over Donald Trump, but it is unclear whether it will hold or be enough to prevail in the Electoral College.
Ever since she replaced Joe Biden, Harris has been getting better coverage than Trump, but now that she has announced her vice presidential pick and the convention is over, it may be harder for her to land good news stories and easier for Trump to attract attention. That means a lot is riding on tonight’s big interview on CNN, a sitdown between the outlet’s Dana Bash and Harris and Gov. Tim Walz, which will air at 9 p.m. ET. But there will be even more riding on Harris’ first presidential debate with Trump, scheduled to take place on ABC on Sept. 10, and the wrangling continues over the terms.
Trump has again announced that the rules have been agreed on, but Harris’ team says it wants both candidates’ microphones to be live throughout, as is normally the case. In Trump’s June debate with Biden, the candidates’ mics were muted when the other was speaking. The Harris side says that helped Trump since it prevented him from interjecting. Trump told reporters he’d prefer to have the mics live but that the two sides have already agreed to the terms.
The struggle is crucial. History shows that debates can cause decisive shifts in voters’ intentions. With this election on a knife’s edge, both candidates are battling for even the smallest advantage.