Trump claims Harris has withdrawn from debate
US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has said that his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, has notified his campaign that she will not be taking part in a debate slated to be broadcast on Fox News next month.
Trump has yet to directly lock horns with Harris, who became the Democratic Party’s official candidate early in August when President Joe Biden pulled out of the race. Trump previously debated Biden in late June, in a disastrous spectacle that eventually led to the 81-year-old dropping out of the race amid concerns over his mental capacity.
Harris’ campaign has not confirmed Trump's claim, though it had previously indicated that she would not take part and pointed to another scheduled debate to be hosted by ABC on September 10.
Trump was originally supposed to face off with Biden on this date, and initially argued that the event had been “terminated” due to the current president dropping out of the race. However, he later acquiesced and recommitted to the face-off with Harris instead.
In addition, however, Trump proposed separate debates in September on Fox News and NBC News.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, Trump wrote: “Comrade Kamala Harris has just informed us that she will NOT do the FoxNews Debate on September 4th.” He added he was “not surprised” because it would be “very difficult” for her to defend her record.
Trump notified his subscribers that he will be holding a Tele-Town Hall hosted by Fox News’ Sean Hannity instead of the debate slated for September 4.
Earlier this month, the Harris campaign stated that it would only commit to two presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate, declaring that the “debate about debates is over.”
“Assuming Donald Trump actually shows up on September 10 to debate Vice President Harris, then Governor Walz will see JD Vance on October 1 and the American people will have another opportunity to see the vice president and Donald Trump on the debate stage in October,” Harris’ campaign communications director Michael Tyler announced at the time.
