Trump Announces Earlier Debate Date with Harris
Following Biden’s exit, Fox News sent a letter to both Harris and Trump campaigns in late July proposing a debate on September 17.
Source: Win McNamee/Getty Images
However, late Friday, Trump declared on Truth Social that he plans to debate Harris on September 4, earlier than the proposed date, on Fox News, and criticized ABC News and its anchor, George Stephanopoulos.
Cites Conflict with ABC News
“I have agreed with FoxNews to debate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, September 4th,” Trump wrote.
Source: Wikimedia
“The Debate was previously scheduled against Sleepy Joe Biden on ABC, but has been terminated in that Biden will no longer be a participant, and I am in litigation against ABC Network and George Slopadopoulos, thereby creating a conflict of interest.”
Harris Campaign Accuses Him of Dodging Scheduled Debate
Trump mentioned that the Fox debate would be moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, and would feature “A FULL ARENA AUDIENCE!”
Source: Wikimedia
On Saturday, the Harris campaign responded with a statement accusing Trump of avoiding the debate. “Donald Trump is running scared and trying to back out of the debate he already agreed to and running straight to Fox News to bail him out. He needs to stop playing games and show up to the debate he already committed to on Sept 10,” the statement read.
Harris Campaign Vows Presence at Scheduled Debate
“The Vice President will be there one way or the other to take the opportunity to speak to a prime time national audience.”
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We’re happy to discuss further debates after the one both campaigns have already agreed to. Mr. Anytime, anywhere, anyplace should have no problem with that unless he’s too scared to show up on the 10th,” the Harris Campaign stated.
Source Reveals Trump’s Lawsuit Pre-Dates Debate Agreement
Despite Trump’s claim of a “conflict of interest” preventing him from participating in the ABC News debate, a source familiar with the situation told The Independent that Trump’s lawsuit was filed months before his agreement in May to the September debate.
Source: Adam Bettcher/Getty Images
The source also confirmed that Stephanopoulos would not be moderating the debate.
Misreported Liability in Carroll Case
Trump had filed a defamation lawsuit against ABC News and Stephanopoulos in March, following Stephanopoulos’s suggestion that Trump had been “found liable for rape” in the E. Jean Carroll case.
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However, Trump was found liable for abuse, not rape, in the civil case.
June 27 CNN Debate Criticized
The previous debate, held on June 27 on CNN, saw persistent questions about whether President Biden could effectively handle another term in office, contributing to his decision to withdraw from the race.
Source: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
CNN’s handling of the debate was criticized for lacking live fact-checking, and Trump was later found to have made 30 false statements during the 90-minute event.
Live Fact-Checking for Upcoming Debates Still Unconfirmed
It remains uncertain whether the upcoming debates hosted by ABC News or Fox News will include live fact-checking.
Source: @JoeBiden, X
Both networks have yet to confirm if they will provide this feature.
“Not Fair”
On Friday, Trump also expressed frustration about facing a new Democratic candidate.
Source: @TheTelegraph/YouTube
“I spent hundreds of millions of dollars, time, and effort fighting Joe, and when I won the debate, they threw a new candidate into the ring. Not fair,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “But it is what it is!”
Trump Claims September 4 Debate Will Highlight Consistent Policy Issues
“Nevertheless, different candidate or not, their bad policies are the same, and this will be strongly revealed at the 4 September debate,” he added.
Source: Wiki Commons
Trump had previously stated he would not debate Harris because she was not the official candidate.
Harris Expresses Gratitude for Support
On Friday, Harris secured the necessary delegate votes to become the Democratic nominee, reaching 2,350 delegate votes during a virtual roll call ahead of this month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Source: Getty Images
Harris expressed her honor at being the presumptive nominee, saying, “The tireless work of our delegates, our state leaders, and our staff has been pivotal to making this moment possible.”