The ABCs of a Debate

ABC News is radio silent about what will be its most high-profile broadcast of the year.

The network has been working behind the scenes for months on the September 10 presidential debate, but as the high-stakes face-off nears, it has yet to publicly weigh in on the dispute between the Donald Trump and Kamala Harris campaigns over the basic ground rules.

Earlier this week, the two camps traded barbs over whether or not the microphones should be muted when the opposing candidate is speaking, as was the case during the CNN debate in which President Joe Biden participated. In a bit of an ironic twist, Harris' team has argued against the muting of the microphones, seemingly wanting the country to see Trump obnoxiously interrupt her throughout the evening.

Nevertheless, Trump declared on Truth Social Tuesday afternoon that he had accepted the terms for the ABC News debate, stating that the rules would be the same as those in place during the CNN debate. Notably, however, he was the only one to make a statement on the matter. Since Trump's post on Truth Social Tuesday, the Harris campaign has not addressed the topic.

Even more conspicuously, ABC News has stayed silent. While other news organizations reported on Trump's Truth Social post, ABC News did not. In fact, I've learned that Rick Klein, ABC News' newly promoted Washington bureau chief, directed staffers at the Disney-owned outlet to avoid reporting on the Trump post.

"Please do not report," Klein wrote in a Tuesday email that I obtained.