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GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is gearing up to face off against Vice President Kamala Harris at their a highly anticipated Sept. 10 debate on ABC News. The former president, however, has at least one more request after flip-flopping over the event’s rules and regulations.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump shared that “no boxes or artificial lifts” will be allowed during the debate, equating the use of the height-enhancing items to “cheating.”
“No boxes or artificial lifts will be allowed to stand on during my upcoming debate with Comrade Kamala Harris,” he wrote on Saturday. “We had this out previously with former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg when he was in a debate, and he was not allowed a ‘lift.’ It would be a form of cheating.”
He added, “And the Democrats cheat enough. ‘You are who you are,’ it was determined!”
In 2016, during his debates with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Trump—who is reported to be somewhere around 6’ to 6’3 tall—seemed to loom over Clinton’s reported 5’7 stature. Particularly during their second debate, the former president’s habit of lurking in the background while Clinton spoke was parodied on SNL—with Alec Baldwin playing Trump and Kate McKinnon as Clinton.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump during the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 9, 2016.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
Harris, who is reportedly 5’4 tall, also had her own requests for the big day. Upon agreeing to the rules of the debate, her campaign told ABC in a letter that she would be “disadvantaged” by the network’s plan to mute candidates’ microphones when it is not their turn to speak.
“Vice President Harris, a former prosecutor, will be fundamentally disadvantaged by this format, which will serve to shield Donald Trump from direct exchanges with the Vice President,” the written statement read. “We suspect this is the primary reason for his campaign’s insistence on muted microphones.”
A source told CNN that ABC may turn on the mics at some point during the debate so the audience can hear some of the candidates’ reactions.
