Topline
Former President Donald Trump said late Friday night he will not participate in an ABC-hosted debate against Vice President Kamala Harris and proposed an alternative Fox News debate against Harris, whose campaign said the former president was “ running scared” from a “debate he already agreed to.”
Trump proposed an alternative debate on Fox News. (Photo by Joel Angel Juarez for The Washington … [+]
Key Facts
Trump said he won’t participate in the Sept. 10 debate on ABC because President Joe Biden will no longer be his opponent after bowing out of the election, and he also cited his defamation lawsuit against the network.
Trump said the Sept. 4 Fox News debate will have similar rules to the ones in his first debate with Biden in June, except it also would be televised in front of a “FULL ARENA AUDIENCE.”
Harris’ campaign said Trump was “running to Fox News to bail him out” of the planned ABC debate.
Harris, jabbing at Trump’s previous comments that he would debate Biden “anytime, anyplace,” said Trump’s debate conditions have transitioned to “one specific time, one specific safe space.”
ABC News will reportedly give airtime to whoever shows up to its debate, even if Harris is the sole participant, CNN reported, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.
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Tangent
Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Trump’s running mate, has said he is “ pissed” he will not have the opportunity to debate Harris, who had agreed to multiple debate dates with Vance before Biden dropped out of the race.
Key Background
The Trump campaign has been reluctant to commit to a debate against Harris, saying late last month it would not do so until the Democratic Party officially votes in its nominee. However, Harris recently secured enough votes to win the nomination, becoming the presumptive nominee a little more than two weeks before the Democratic National Convention. Harris accused the former president of backpedaling after agreeing to the Sept. 10 ABC debate, and has repeatedly said she is prepared to debate Trump. Harris has cut down Trump’s polling lead significantly since Biden dropped out of the race, though Trump still holds on to a 1.2 point lead over Harris, according to Real Clear Politics’ poll tracker.
Further Reading
Trump Refuses To Debate Until Democrats Formally Decide Nominee—Harris Accuses Him Of Backpedaling (Forbes)
JD Vance Says He’s ‘Pissed’ He Won’t Debate Kamala Harris (Forbes)
