Keller: Dispute over the rules of the Harris-Trump debate
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
BOSTON - He didn't like ABC News, the host, or a proposal to keep candidate mics open throughout. "Why am I doing it?" wondered GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump on Monday about his scheduled debate with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
Same rules as debate with Biden
What a difference a day makes. Late Tuesday, Trump announced on social media that he would attend the September 10th debate, which would follow the same rules as his June debate with Joe Biden.
Why did Trump apparently back away from his threat?
After all, his flirtation with pulling out over the Harris campaign's call for open microphones left him open to ridicule, with a Harris campaign spokesperson writing that Trump's people "don't think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own."
Presidential debate expert
When we spoke with Northeastern University Professor Emeritus Alan Schroeder, an expert on presidential debate history, before Trump's announcement, he correctly predicted, "I don't think there is any way on God's green earth that Trump would skip this debate."
And he noted how the brief boycott threat reflects how the debate has changed from a rematch with an aging Biden - never known as much of a debater - to a showdown with a much younger former prosecutor.
"Trump seems to be uncomfortable with women in general and with non-white women in particular," said Schroeder.
President George H.W. Bush skipped his first scheduled debate with Michael Dukakis in 1988, a move that earned him the nickname "Chicken George." And the Harris camp made it clear they wanted an encore with a social media post splicing in chicken sounds over video of Trump waffling about attending the debate.
Whatever his motives, Trump now says he'll be there on September 10th, when a man who loves big crowds will face the largest audience of the race by far. "In the final analysis it really comes down to the performance of the candidates, their ability to articulate their goals, and frankly, whether or not they're able to make the case against their opponent on that stage," said Schroeder.
Mics muted
Keep in mind, the format from the first debate that Trump was so intent on keeping was seen as a win for the Biden campaign before the event occurred, curtailing Trump's ability to interrupt and removing the live audience he so loves to play to.
But Biden proved incapable of taking advantage with crisp rebuttals and coherent arguments. Trump mostly stood there calmly while Biden melted down.
Can Harris make that format work for her by shredding Trump while he stands there with his mic muted? We're about to find out.
