Former President Donald Trump said he’s prepared to debate Vice President Kamala Harris on Sept. 4 on Fox News, although the vice president declined and insisted on the Sept. 10 debate on ABC, in line with an earlier debate arrangement with President Joe Biden.
Trump said in a post on social media on Aug. 3 that because Biden has dropped out of the race, their arrangement for a Sept. 10 debate on ABC no longer holds. Instead, Trump proposed a Sept. 4 debate against Harris in Pennsylvania, hosted by Fox News.
Harris reacted to Trump’s message in a post on social media platform X, saying that she’ll “be there on September 10th, like he agreed to.”
“I hope to see him there,” she wrote.
This prompted an ultimatum from Trump.
“I’ll see her on September 4th or, I won’t see her at all,” he wrote in a follow-up post on Truth Social.
The former president said he sees the Sept. 4 debate as essentially a replacement of the previously scheduled Sept. 10 event, which “has been terminated” because Biden dropped out from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Harris as the Democratic Party nominee.
After Biden announced his withdrawal, Trump called for a change to the Sept. 10 debate, saying in a post on Truth Social that it should be held on Fox News instead of ABC.
In his latest Aug. 3 post, Trump said that he’s in litigation against ABC and that holding a debate on that network would represent a “conflict of interest.”
The former president also proposed that the moderators of the Sept. 4 debate would be Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum and the debate rules would be similar to those agreed to for the Sept. 10 debate, “but with a full arena audience.”
Trump’s June 27 debate against Biden on CNN in Atlanta was held with no studio audience.
Harris said on July 25 that she had agreed to debate Trump at the previously agreed upon Sept. 10 debate, while accusing Trump of trying to back out of that earlier agreement.
There has been speculation about whether a Trump–Harris debate would even take place, with the former president hinting repeatedly that there would be, although he remained noncommittal. His Aug. 3 proposal for the Sept. 4 debate is the first time he has made a firm commitment, while his follow-up ultimatum suggests that a debate between the two is unlikely.
During a press call last week, Trump responded to a reporter’s question about how important it was to debate Harris and whether he’d be willing to debate on ABC.
“Well I haven’t agreed to anything,” he said on the call. “I agreed to a debate with Joe Biden, but I want to debate her and she’ll be no different, because they have the same policies. I think debating is important for a presidential race, I really do. … I think if you’re the Democrat nominee or the Republican nominee you really have an obligation to debate, so I think it’s very important.”
Reporters asked Harris at Joint Base Andrews whether she would be willing to do the debate on Fox News instead of ABC, but she walked away before answering.
In an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, Trump said he would “probably” end up debating Harris but also said he could “make a case for not doing it.”
Trump said he wanted to do the debate but argued that there wasn’t a pressing need for one, given that he and his positions are well-known, as is Harris and her positions.
“The answer is yes, I’ll probably end up debating,” he said.
Harris has earned more than a majority of votes from all Democratic convention delegates and will formally become the party’s nominee after voting closes on Aug. 5, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Jaime Harrison said on Aug. 2, noting that he’s “so proud.”
“I am so honored to be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States,” Harris said in a statement on X. “I will officially accept the nomination next week.”
Chase Smith contributed to this report. This article has been updated to include Harris’s reaction to Trump’s debate proposal, and the former president’s subsequent ultimatum.
Jeez, what a shock!.
I’m stunned.
If question leaking Donna Brazile was still with Fox news to feed her prep team the questions under the table, Kamala would probably agree to a Fox debate. CNN Brazile finally admitted she slipped Hillary the pre-planned questions, who got creamed in the debate anyway. Fake puppet politicians like Joe and Kamala NEVER, unless desperate, join into fair competitions until umps have been bought, and the mind bending commercials are secured, and their lamp lighted Lawn Jockeys come out to light the way for their Dem Party lawn Trolls usually kept in the basement or the bushes to keep them from getting clipped by mistake by even the illegal aliens they sneak in to manicure their own lawns, while the weeds are left to grow free in our former American gardens of freedom where unclipped trees of Liberty used to be found, unclipped except for dead branches of democrat party perverts who refused to bear fruit, multiply and take dominion over the world as directed by their CREATOR. As for studio audiences, they should hold the debate in 90,000 capacity Aggie Stadium and then see who can fill the seats with American patriots, or like Kamala and Joe just fill our heads with tons of media delusions of imagined popularity, that they are anything but the illusionary frauds that they are. When it comes to Kamala either putting up or shutting up, her silence is indeed deafening, and when her jabberwocky Kamalhockey finally stops, the lack of sound reasoning appears quieter than dead silence.
Now that democrat, President Joe Biden has Stepped Aside for running for president again His Vice President got his endorsement to run for President, but Winstin Churchill had this to say, ” I Never listen to what People say. I Just Watch What They Do. Behavior Never Lies.”
To this day, i STILL DON’T know how dipsy donna got onto fox’s team..
Kamala Harris, “Be A CLOWN, Be A Clown, All The World Loves A CLOWN…..Cole Porter.
here’s a thought, no main stream media commentators, one liberal SCOTUS judge one conservative SCOTUS JUDGE, ASKING written sealed questions from a live AUDIENCE…………
But who’s going to feed Cackles the answers ?!?
That’s why they WON’T do fox. BECAUSE THEY KNOW they can’t get the questions fed to her there.
BHO of course , while sitting back in his basement speaking into his mike directly to her ear bud. Just like he said in one of his interviews a few years ago.
Proof positive that Kamel-la is deathly afraid to debate Trump fairly…. running away afraid!
Kamala knows very well what would happen to her in a debate with Trump. What she doesn’t know is anything about economic issues that are the prime driver of the well-being of the United States. She is without question “an economic moron” running for the most important economic position in the country. It doesn’t get much worse than that.
The Hairy Kamel won’t debate unless the DNC has total control over the whole thing and she has prior knowledge of the questions because she is incapable of independent thought and SHE KNOWS IT!
He’d do well not to debate. This crowd not like any he’s seen before. He’d do well just to play quiet until election. Immigration his only talking point.
Yes, well there’s also inflation, violent crimes, drug deaths, the swamp, two tiered justice system…Lots of talking points, actually.
What you on about. THERE IS PLENTY to hit Kamala on. NOT just immigration.