Kamala Harris Says She Will Debate On September 10; Trump’s Campaign Declines To Commit Until “Democrats Formally Decide On Their Nominee” — Update
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
UPDATE: Donald Trump’s campaign has responded to Kamala Harris’ claim that the former president is “backpedaling” on previous commitments to debate.
After Harris said earlier today that she has agreed to participate in an ABC News-hosted debate on September 10, Trump’s campaign declined to commit to that date.
More from Deadline
“Given the continued political chaos surrounding Crooked Joe Biden and the Democrat Party, general election debate details cannot be finalized until Democrats formally decide on their nominee,” said Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung in a statement. “There is a strong sense by many in the Democrat Party – namely Barack Hussein Obama – that Kamala Harris is a Marxist fraud who cannot beat President Trump, and they are still holding out for someone ‘better.’ Therefore, it would be inappropriate to schedule things with Harris because Democrats very well could still change their minds.”
Harris may soon be the official nominee, as the Democratic National Committee plans to hold a virtual roll call as early as Aug. 1. There also have been reports that Obama is preparing to endorse Harris soon.
In May, ABC News scheduled the debate between Trump and Joe Biden, with David Muir and Linsey Davis as moderators.
PREVIOUSLY: Kamala Harris said that she has agreed to debate Donald Trump on September 10.
In May, the campaigns of Trump and President Joe Biden had accepted ABC News’ invite to debate on that date, in what would have been their second match up after the CNN event on June 27.
Harris told reporters today, “You have been asking me about the debate and I’ll tell you I’m ready to debate Donald Trump. I have agreed to the previously agreed upon September 10 debate. He agreed to that previously. Now, here he appears to be backpedaling, but I’m ready, and I think the voters deserve to see the split screen that exists in this race on a debate stage, and so I’m ready. Let’s go.”
There has been no official word on whether Trump will still accept that date. He has lately said that he would debate Harris, but wants to do so at a Fox News hosted event. He has been bashing ABC News as biased against him.
Fox News sent letters to both campaigns this week, proposing a Sept. 17 debate. But the network did not meet the criteria that the Biden campaign set out in May. They said that the host network should have hosted a 2016 Republican primary debate and a 2020 Democratic primary debate. That also would have excluded MSNBC.
Best of Deadline
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
