Trump-Harris debate in flux as candidates trade barbs over what's next
WASHINGTON - Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris know they're facing each other in November's presidential election. They just can't agree on whether they'll be debating each other any time soon.
Late Friday night, Trump in a social media post declared that he has agreed to debate Harris on Sept. 4 during an event hosted by Fox News. Less than 12 hours later, Harris' campaign replied to say no dice and accused Trump of running scared.
If the Fox debate that Trump described were to happen, it would be the first face-to-face showdown between the former president and his new 2024 opponent following last month's dramatic change atop the Democratic ticket when incumbent 81-year-old President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign.
According to Trump's Truth Social post at 11:48 p.m. EST, the next event with Harris would take place at a to-be-determined location in Pennsylvania that's moderated by Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. Trump's post also said the debate rules would be similar to when he squared off against Biden on June 27, with the exception that there'd be a live audience instead of a mostly-empty television studio.
The status of additional presidential campaign debates has been in flux for weeks amid uncertainty over whether Biden would stay in the White House race. Trump's Truth Social post also said the second debate he had previously agreed to against Biden scheduled for Sept. 10 on ABC News had been "terminated" once the president ended his own campaign.
Michael Tyler, Harris' campaign communications director, said in a statement on Saturday morning that "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," Tyler said. "The Vice President will be there one way or the other to take the opportunity to speak to a prime time national audience."
The Harris campaign is also happy to discuss further debates after the one Trump and Biden already agreed to, Tyler said, adding: "Mr. Anytime, anywhere, anyplace should have no problem with that unless he’s too scared to show up on the 10th."
Representatives from the Trump campaign could not be immediately reached for comment.
In a follow-up social media post Saturday afternoon, Trump repeatedly criticized Harris' intelligence and said "I’ll see her on September 4th or, I won’t see her at all."
Fox News did invite both candidates to a September debate in a letter last month, but has not confirmed Trump's claims about the logistics of a debate. A Fox spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
Trump in late June said he was pulling out of the ABC News debate because of the uncertainty over who he'd be running against in November. Harris earlier this week responded during a campaign rally in Atlanta, challenging the former Republican president: “I do hope you’ll reconsider and meet me on the debate stage, because, as the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face!”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump OKs a Fox News debate; Harris says rival is 'running scared'
