- Former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross warned against being too “tough”
Donald Trump should be careful not to put too much pressure on Kamala Harris in their first debate this month, warns former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
Ross, 86, is concerned that the former president appears too “strong” in front of Vice President Harris and says people don’t want to see a woman treated that way.
Harris and Trump are scheduled to have their first debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 10, hosted by ABC News.
After a bitter back-and-forth over rules and logistics (including whether microphones would be muted or whether candidates would sit or stand), Trump’s team and ABC News now say the rules are set and they are in agreement.
“The only danger is that Trump is big, strong and a man,” Ross told radio host John Catsimatidis during an interview on The Cats Roundtable Sunday morning.
Former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross (pictured left) warned Donald Trump not to come on too “strong” in his debate with Kamala Harris because “people don’t like to see a woman pushed around.”
She added: “He has to be careful not to appear to be putting too much pressure on a woman. People don’t like to see a woman being put too much pressure on.”
But Trump has already gone head-to-head in a debate with a woman when he faced Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race.
Ross served in the Trump administration for nearly the entirety of its term, assuming the role of Secretary of Commerce on February 28, 2017, and ending his term when it concluded on January 20, 2021.
He also recommended that the debate focus less on theater and more on “real issues” like inflation, the southern border and foreign wars, which he said are “things that people really care a lot about” in this election cycle.
In the last presidential debate, Trump faced Joe Biden in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, and the CNN event was what triggered the beginning of the end of the Democratic president’s re-election bid.
Less than a month after the clash, Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris to take his place on the ticket in November.
The campaign, when it was still a Biden-Harris ticket, agreed to apply debate rules for Harris when she ran for vice president. These included having no pre-written notes, standing behind a podium and using muted microphones when it was not the candidates’ turn to speak.
But Trump’s team says his Democratic rival wants to disrupt them now that he’s going after him.
Harris will go head-to-head with Trump in their first debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 10, hosted by ABC News.
While the microphone muting debate appears to be ongoing with the Harris campaign still lobbying ABC News to drop the rule, the rest of the logistics appear to be settled.
Harris’ campaign wanted microphones to remain on throughout the debate because they thought it would allow viewers to see Trump interrupting the vice president. Muted microphones at the CNN debate in June were seen as an advantage for Trump.
The Trump campaign says Harris wanted to be seated so that the 6-foot-3 former president would not tower over her nearly 1-foot-3 shorter stature.
They also say Harris wanted to be able to bring pre-written notes on stage, something the VP team vehemently denies.
The debate will be similar to the one CNN held earlier this summer in terms of rules and logistics, including the absence of a live audience.