this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2024
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  • Kamala Harris' campaign is demanding that microphones stay unmuted at the next debate.
  • It's a break from Joe Biden, who insisted on microphone muting at the June 27 debate.
  • It indicates the vice president thinks outbursts from Trump would end up benefiting her.
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[–] [email protected] 126 points 2 months ago (3 children)

just me, or is this the most muscular feeling dem campaign in a loooong time?

they are taking every opportunity to shine light into dark gop crevices, including the roach infested crevice of trumps mind.

the smell republican blood in the water is a helluva drug.

[–] [email protected] 48 points 2 months ago (1 children)

We swapped dentures for teeth

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[–] JustZ 27 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I can't wait until that first week of November when Beyoncé and Taylor Swift show up to help get out the vote.

I was one of those that thought Joe Biden should stay in the race. And I'm so glad to be wrong.

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[–] eran_morad 9 points 2 months ago (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 97 points 2 months ago (6 children)

There have been enough reports of Trump privately calling Kamala a b*tch that there's a strong possibility he could snap and use that word if she starts to embarrass him. There's also a non-zero chance of him using some other slur or just saying weird racist things

[–] Thebeardedsinglemalt 37 points 2 months ago (2 children)

And sadly, large swaths of his base would just eat it up for tElLiNg It LiKe It Is or because they're mostly racist misogynists.

[–] elliot_crane 29 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It would galvanize his base but they’re already a lost cause. Him having a racist/sexist outburst on live TV and Harris handling it like an adult would only help her campaign.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I also think there may be women who vote "how they're told" who wouldn't appreciate that and would tell their husband they voted for Trump but actually vote for Harris.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Hopefully this will pull some centrists and apolitical people away from voting for Trump.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I’m willing to bet that’s the goal on Harris’ part. The Democrats have finally found that the way to unravel him is just belittle him rather than giving him any measure of power. If the debate goes forward unmuted, she just has to be dismissive and call him weird/old/whatever and I guarantee he’ll fly off the handle.

[–] captainlezbian 15 points 2 months ago

Also the “I’m speaking” and continuing.

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[–] dhork 12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

He was able to keep it contained against Hillary back in the day and just called her a "nasty woman". He will have no such restraint with Harris. I'm expecting him to say he will "see you next Tuesday", like he did with that lawyer. It's the type of thing an edgy twelve year old would say, which is why I expect him to say it.

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[–] [email protected] 72 points 2 months ago (5 children)

I wonder if it’s to hopefully get him to demand they be muted. Like she’s baiting him to do it.

[–] chemical_cutthroat 53 points 2 months ago (3 children)

I think it's because she knows he'll say some outlandish shit when it's muted and she wants to make sure that when he forgets that he has a live mic, it's all on tape.

[–] FuglyDuck 29 points 2 months ago (1 children)

yup. basically she wants his crazy on full display.

I'm not sure it'll work in her favor, but, uh. it's one way to counter the gish gallop. Just hand them the mic and then mock them later for being a lunatic.

[–] foggy 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's actually the best way to handle the Gish Gallop... Let them keep talking.

Wait for them to say something truly outlandish. Respond by calling out their Gish Gallop, say that you're only going to respond to the one thing so as to remain focused in the face of their gish gallop, and knock it out of the park.

Let him throw you meatballs until you find your pitch.

[–] FuglyDuck 7 points 2 months ago (2 children)

The reason i don’t think that it’ll work so well is that they’ll take their soundbites and run with it.

They can edit out the good comebacks from Kamala, after all, and just air the bits that make her look stupid- even if they have to invent those bits.

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[–] Viking_Hippie 14 points 2 months ago

That's the only way it's a good idea. Otherwise, he'll just keep interrupting her throughout the whole thing and she won't be able to get a word in edgewise.

Yes she's a former prosecutor and thus used to argue for a living but that was a) a long time ago and b) in a highly regulated setting where there's serious consequences for breaking decorum.

In a "debate" on a for-profit yellow media outlet, he's not going to be held in check by the moderator(s) or anyone else and even though most if not all of his blathering is going to be lies, he's likely going to win by default for being "high energy" or whatever bullshit the corrupt pundit class comes up with to spin his lunacy and childish bullying as a show of strength.

[–] JustZ 7 points 2 months ago

That's how it read to me:

"The VP is ready to debate Trump live and uncensored," Harris' advisor Brian Fallon wrote on X on Monday. "Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button."

Fallon suggested that Trump's campaign would not agree to that condition, writing that Trump "should reject his handlers' attempts to muzzle him via a muted microphone."

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[–] g0nz0li0 64 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Muted mics make him look like he's being civil and letting Harris talk.

Hot mic presents two interesting possibilities:

  1. He tries on his "low IQ" and "she suddenly decided to be black" attack lines and Harris calls him out so he looks like a fucking asshole to the average voter.

  2. He DOESNT try on his "low IQ" and "she suddenly decided to be black" attack lines and Harris calls back to her "say it to my face" line and paints him as a weak coward for the rest of the campaign.

[–] Dkarma 29 points 2 months ago (1 children)

And number 3, just treat him like the child he is.

Behold

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tXFqTGBty1w

[–] nforminvasion 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 53 points 2 months ago (6 children)

What happens if he just doesn't stop talking when his turn is over? I thought that was a lesson learned from 2016 or something

[–] BananaTrifleViolin 51 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Trump has cognitively declined since 2016 and is increasingly incoherent and nasty. I think the Dems are gambling that many voters aren't watching his stump appearances so this is a good way to expose him to voters.

I think its too big a gamble and mute him. I think he will expose himself enough on his own turns to speak.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I just hope none of this is being planned with the idea that it’ll change the opinion of his most ardent supporters, because he’s said a lot of incoherent and nasty things, and it doesn’t appear to have hurt his chances. Hell, those most negatively impacted by his policies are lining up to vote for him again, to “save” the nation. What are words in the face of that?

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

In the margins are people who will peel away and at least stay home. The people who haven't seen him speak but think they like him based on the curated perspective from Fox News, etc. there are people who will listen to him unfiltered for the first time in a few years and it will be the last straw.

[–] Etterra 9 points 2 months ago

It's almost certainly directed at the fence-sitters and undecided. Those kinds of people are so confusing, especially in the present day of info overload. I mean how have you not figured these two out yet? Are you living in a bunker, or are you just that wishy-washy? Like WTF.

It's more important to energize the base - which I believe is why they did the DNC like they did. The more people vote overall, the better the Dems tend to do. And dragging everyone out of Biden's post-debate despair is critical for them.

[–] jimmy90 6 points 2 months ago

yeah i think muting is the only way to get a half-way decent debate

[–] dyathinkhesaurus 26 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Came here to say this. How will they shut him up? The people who came to hear him talk will want to hear his word salad gospel, no matter how long he yammers for. She won't be able to get a word in.

And based on what happened with Hillary Clinton, there should also perhaps be a demand that he stay put at his lectern and not be allowed to walk around the stage/behind her...

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[–] [email protected] 49 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Comedian Ron White used to tell a story about being arrested for public intoxication, saying "I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

This seems like the same thing playing out in real life. All Donald has to do is not talk when it isn't his turn, and his team is afraid that's beyond his ability.

[–] Wogi 18 points 2 months ago (2 children)

They call him... tater salad.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago

You did it. You caught the Tater

[–] rigamarole 9 points 2 months ago

They call his son tater tot.

[–] RememberTheApollo_ 48 points 2 months ago (4 children)

It doesn’t matter what he says, we’ve heard it all before. He’s a one-trick pony.

The problem is that he’s going to gish gallop and lead the conversation by trying to get Harris to be the one trying to disprove all his bullshit. It’s a major MO in republican discussion to spew bullshit in bad faith that wastes the time of the opponent who is attempting to have an actual conversation and tries to reasonably refute the bullshit. The bullshit is reductionist, sensationalist, and full of feels, so it gets attention vs. the actual facts which tend to be the exact opposite. Trump will absolutely talk all over her, interrupt, and just be an asshole.

So trump’s mic should absolutely be shut off. He wastes time and opportunity for Harris to state her platform.

Plus, I think being unable to be heard really pisses him off. So I’m all for that, too.

[–] Red_October 19 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The problem is that muting his mic when it's not his turn to talk doesn't keep him from spewing rampant bullshit when it IS his time to talk.

[–] RememberTheApollo_ 11 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Of course!

But it keeps him from spewing rampant bullshit over his opponent.

Lesser of two evils? He’s gonna be a tool no matter what, just minimize his opportunity to do so.

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[–] Dkarma 14 points 2 months ago

Biden handled that well "everything he just said is a lie"

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

Honestly fantastic choice. The more he talks over people and interrupts, the more unhinged and insensible he appears to the average voter. Political commentator I watch regularly has been saying this for months to leave his mic on at the debate rather than mute him.

[–] 2000mph 28 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I didn't know about the muted mics at the last debate so when I saw all the highlights I was surprised how calm and respectful Trump was to Biden. I couldn't understand it, I thought maybe he was being kind and had some sympathy to Biden due to his ill state at the time.

But then I remembered who the F he is and now I know his mic was muted it all makes sense. I'm surprised he didn't just try shouting anyway over the muted mic.

But just watching those highlights in isolation without that knowledge it almost...... kinda almost made him seem human.

So definitely, unmute the mics so we see the real Trump and let him implode.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

That's what everyone was saying prior to the 2016 debates, but despite shouting over Hillary constantly those were at best a tie but more likely a Trump win on balance.

I'm not saying it can't work, but Harris needs to be able to control the room and put Trump in his place by force of personality alone. She needs to bite back and shut him down successfully, and that's not all that easy to do.

Taking the high road and "letting him make a fool out of himself" is not gonna work out the way they want.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Hillary couldn't shut Trump down without appearing elitist and smug (because she's both).

Harris isn't Hillary.

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[–] samus12345 25 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Harris ain't 'fraid o' no Gish gallop.

[–] gdog05 21 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Her campaign team was there to know what Trump was saying when the mic was off during the last debate with Biden. I think they likely have some great insider information on top of the basic strategy. I think they know from experience, not just theory, that he just isn't in control of himself enough to go that long without embarrassing/racist/misogynistic/whatever outbursts.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I don't know. I remember the last time I watched a debate that included Trump and his mic was unmuted. It was completely impossible to follow anything that way said from either candidate. Trump loves chaos, and an unmuted mic enabled him to create chaos.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago
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