The campaign for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris faced backlash online Thursday afternoon after one of its representatives attempted to argue that the campaign had not agreed to ABC News’s debate rules, which included muting the candidates’ microphones while their opponent was speaking.

Harris spokesman Brian Fallon made this claim hours after the New York Post reported that ABC News had notified both the Harris campaign and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign via an email from ABC News Chief Counsel Eric Lieberman.

The email outlined that the September 10 debate would follow the same format as the June CNN debate: candidates would stand with muted microphones, be prohibited from using notes, and there would be no audience present.

CNN reported that Harris’s campaign was urged to drop the microphone issue to allow the debate to proceed, but the campaign seemed reluctant to comply, even though ABC News had already established the “formal list of debate rules.”

“Our latest understanding is that even though Trump said Monday he would be fine with an unmuted mic, his handlers don’t trust him to spar live with VP Harris and are asking ABC to ignore Trump’s comments and keep the mics muted or else they will back out of the debate for a third time,” Fallon claimed. “We have been asked to accede to Trump’s handlers’ wishes on this point for the sake of preserving the debate. We find the Trump’s team’s stance to be weak, and remain in discussions with ABC on the final rules.”

Fallon encountered considerable online criticism for his claim, with a broad spectrum of political commentators weighing in against his stance.

“Here’s the thing about shills: They are literally paid to be dishonest and disingenuous,” said John Podhoretz, editor of Commentary Magazine. “Though in Brian’s case, I’m sure he’d do it for free, since he hasn’t made an honest argument in his entire life.”

Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro responded to Fallon by saying, “Stop trying to manufacture excuses to avoid debates.”

“He agreed to three,” Shapiro said. “You agreed to one with the original rules, and one provisionally; then you tried to change the original rules. You’re a campaign of cowardice.”

Stephen L. Miller, host of the Versus Media Podcast, commented on X: “Biden made these rules and ABC is abiding by the original debate rules, just as you originally wanted. Don’t know what else to tell you.”

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