Donald Trump earned Ann Coulter's scorn Monday with a surprising answer to a campaign reporter's question.
Coulter appeared infuriated that Trump told NBC News reporter Jake Traylor that he'd rather keep mics on when he debates Vice President Kamala Harris on Sept. 10, despite his campaign's own resistance to the demand made by her team.
"The Harris campaign is demanding a rule change of NOT muting mics at the debates," Coulter wrote on X.
Coulter then explained, using an acronym to express her expletive-laden demand he be quiet, "They're betting you won't STFU and will lose the debate."
This is just the latest episode in a long saga of 2024 presidential debate drama that began with Trump facing off against President Joe Biden, whose performance was so poor he ultimately walked away from his own campaign.
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While Biden's performance dominated headlines, critics of both Trump and CNN noted the former president repeatedly lied without check.
During that debate, mics were muted when opponents fielded questions — but Harris' campaign now says they want Trump to have as many opportunities to chime in as possible.
“We have told ABC and other networks seeking to host a possible October [September] debate that we believe both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the full broadcast,” said Brian Fallon, the Harris campaign’s senior adviser for communications.
“Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own."
While Trump campaign spokesperson Jason Miller pushed back at the unmuted mic request and demanded the "exact same terms" as the CNN debate, Trump said Monday morning he didn't care much either way.
"Doesn’t matter to me," Trump told Traylor. "I’d rather have it probably on."
Coulter was livid.
"DON'T AGREE TO THE RULE CHANGE," she wrote. "Learn to STFU."
Coulter was not the only political pundit to raise an eyebrow at Trump's off-the-cuff response. Democrat strategist Sawyer Hackett argued Trump's response suggested inner campaign tension.
"Sure sounds like Trump doesn’t like his staff trying to put debate training wheels on him," he wrote.
