Trump and Harris Clash Over Presidential Debate

The Harris campaign is advocating for a debate to be held on ABC News on September 10, a date initially reserved for a debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. However, Trump has declared that the ABC debate is no longer relevant due to Biden’s withdrawal from the race and is instead pushing for a debate with Harris on Fox News on September 4.

The two candidates are set to compete for the presidency when the U.S. heads to the polls on November 5.

This disagreement emerged after President Biden exited the race on July 21, positioning Kamala Harris as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. Since then, Trump has been non-committal about participating in the previously scheduled ABC News debate, prompting U.S. television networks to engage in negotiations with both campaigns to arrange new debate dates.

On Friday night, Trump announced on his social platform, Truth Social, that he had accepted Fox News’ proposal for a September 4 debate, which is planned to take place in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state. He revealed that Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum would moderate the debate, with rules similar to those used in his debate with Biden. Trump also stated that if Harris declines or is unable to attend, he would instead participate in a major Town Hall event on the same evening.

Trump added that the previous debate agreement was terminated due to Biden’s withdrawal and because of his defamation lawsuit against ABC News, which he claims creates a conflict of interest.

In response, the Harris campaign accused Trump of “running scared” and attempting to back out of the agreed-upon debate. They criticized Trump for seeking refuge in Fox News, a conservative-leaning network, to “bail him out.” Michael Tyler, Harris Campaign communications director, called on Trump to “stop playing games and show up to the debate he already committed to on September 10.”

Harris also took to social media, expressing skepticism about Trump’s commitment, stating that “any time, any place” has turned into “one specific time, one specific safe space.” She confirmed her intention to attend the debate on September 10, as originally agreed upon.

Harris’ team indicated they are open to discussing additional debates, but only after the September 10 event takes place.

As the campaigns continue to spar over debate logistics, the political world is closely watching to see how these two contenders will fare when they finally face off. Harris secured enough pledges to become the Democratic nominee on Friday and has since challenged Trump directly, calling on him during a rally in Atlanta to “say it to my face” if he has something to discuss.

This debate controversy follows a report from the Homeland Security Department detailing lapses in the U.S. Secret Service’s response to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. During the attack, Harris, who was then vice president-elect, was reportedly within 20 feet of a “viable” pipe bomb planted outside the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in Washington. The perpetrators of this and a similar bomb planted at the Republican National Committee headquarters remain unidentified.