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Partly false claim Trump canceled CNN town hall, NRA rally and other events | Fact check
The claim: Trump canceled second debate, appearances on CNN, '60 Minutes' and others
An Oct. 17 Threads post (direct link, archive link) claims former President Donald Trump has backed out of numerous events in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential campaign.
“Trump has canceled: Second debate with Harris, CNN town hall, 60 Minutes, NBC interview, NRA rally, CNBC appearance,” reads the post. “Am I missing some?” It was reposted more than 70 times in a week. Other versions of the claim spread widely on Facebook, Instagram and X, formerly Twitter.
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Our rating: Partly false
Trump canceled some of the events mentioned in the post, but he never agreed to participate in others.
Trump campaign attributes some cancellations to scheduling conflicts
The claim came amid questions from Democrats surrounding Trump’s age and fitness for the presidency. Politico’s Playbook newsletter reported on Oct. 18 that Trump backed out of numerous events because of “exhaustion,” a claim his spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told the outlet was “unequivocally false.”
But the list in the social media post isn't entirely accurate. While Trump did cancel some of the named appearances, others were never scheduled.
Here's a rundown:
Second debate with Vice President Kamala Harris: A second debate between Trump and Harris was never scheduled. Before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, he and Trump agreed to two presidential debates – one on June 27 and the other on Sept. 10. Trump declined invitations from both Fox News and CNN for a second debate against Harris and said he would not participate in any additional debates in a Sept. 12 Truth Social post.
CNN town hall: The network invited both Trump and Harris to participate in town hall events. Harris accepted and took part in an Oct. 23 town hall, but the network said Trump declined the invitation. Trump previously participated in a CNN town hall in May 2023.
"60 Minutes": CBS said both Harris and Trump agreed to sit-down interviews for a "60 Minutes" election special but that Trump later backed out. Trump spokesman Steven Cheung denied the network’s characterization, saying there were “initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in” in an Oct. 1 X post. Cheung also said the program "insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented."
NBC interview: Trump canceled a scheduled October interview with NBC News' Christine Romans, the network reported. The network said the Trump campaign said it would reschedule the event but had not done so as of Oct. 18.
National Rifle Association rally: Both the NRA and the Trump campaign said the former president canceled an event with the organization due to scheduling conflicts, USA TODAY reported.
CNBC appearance: CNBC’s Joe Kernen said on Oct. 15 that Trump canceled a scheduled appearance on the network, as The Hill reported.
Fact check: Harris called Trump, not Biden, 'unstable' in Fox interview
USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims pertaining to presidential campaign events, including false assertions that Harris backed out of a Sept. 4 debate with Trump and that Biden backed out of debating Trump in May.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Trump's team did not answer questions about whether each of the events was a scheduled appearance or about the circumstances of the event cancellations.
Our fact-check sources:
The Hill, Oct. 15, CNBC host says Trump canceled interview
Steven Cheung, Oct. 1, X post
Donald Trump, Sept. 12, Truth Social post
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump canceled NRA rally, NBC interview and other events | Fact check