Here’s how the Trump-Harris debate should work

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Vice President Harris and former President Trump are set to face off in their first and possibly only debate on Sept. 10 in Philadelphia. The stakes are high, as both candidates aim to convince Americans that their opponent is unfit to hold the nation’s highest office. The debate rules have been finalized, with the most contentious issue being the use of muted microphones. The Harris campaign requested that microphones remain live at all times, while Trump’s campaign favors the use of muted microphones, as was done in the Trump-Biden debate. Host network ABC has decided to keep microphones muted, though the Harris campaign is still pushing back.

Watch the video above as Straight Arrow News contributor Newt Gingrich discusses some of the debate rules and shares ideas for reform using the Lincoln-Douglas debate as a template.

The following is an excerpt from the above video:

Well, I have a proposal. The most famous presidential debates in American history were Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Douglas was the incumbent senator, the most famous Democratic politician in the country. Everyone expected him to be the next president. He was up for reelection and was campaigning across the state of Illinois. Lincoln wanted to debate him about the big issues, the issue of freedom, the issue of slavery, the issue of enforcing and upholding the Constitution. Douglas did not want to debate Lincoln. He saw himself as, [it] was called at the time, “a little giant.” He wasn’t very big, physically, and Lincoln, of course, was very big, but he had been called the “little giant” for years. He was a great speaker, very effective, very energetic. So he didn’t want to get on the same platform as Lincoln.

So what Lincoln started doing is, whenever Douglas would speak, Lincoln would show up the next night and tear apart Douglas’s speech. Well, after three of those experiences, Douglas said, “Alright, how about if we get on the same stage?” There were seven congressional districts that had not yet been visited by either Douglas or Lincoln, and so they decided that they would go to those seven districts.

It became the most famous debate in American history. No reporters, nobody in between, [just] two candidates and a timekeeper. I think that’s what Harris and Trump should do. No reporters, no Mickey Mouse, a timekeeper. Let the two candidates ask each other questions, and let them do it on C-SPAN, which is a neutral network that doesn’t have anti-Trump reporters.

Interested in opposing perspectives? Have a look at how our other contributors view this issue from across the political spectrum:

David Pakman: Why fearful Trump has agreed to debate Kamala Harris.

Dr. Rashad Richey: Kamala Harris’ theme is that she is not Donald Trump.