Trump, Harris Agree to September Debate on ABC News
The former president said he was also prepared to debate Vice President Harris on Fox News and NBC News.
![AP/Alex Brandon](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.nysun.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F08%2Ftrump-debates.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
President Trump and Vice President Harris will debate on ABC News on September 10, the network confirmed on Thursday. The former president said at a press conference that he was going to appear for a Fox News debate on September 4 and an NBC News debate later in the month, though Ms. Harris has not committed to either of those events.
Appearing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Thursday, Trump reversed his recent position that he would not appear on ABC News because of a legal battle with the network. He added that CBS News had agreed to host the vice presidential debate between Senator Vance and Governor Walz. A spokesman for the Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether she had agreed to those debates.
For much of the hour-long press event, Trump spent time answering questions about policy issues and his new opponents.
He said Mr. Walz was weak on immigration issues and crime, and claimed that the Harris–Walz ticket would be a disaster for America. “He doesn’t wanna have borders, he doesn’t wanna have walls,” the former president said, adding that the Minnesota governor is “heavy into the transgender world,” presumably referring to the governor’s decision to mandate tampons in boys’ bathrooms in school and other transgender protections he had signed while in office.
A Harris–Walz administration would further “a culture of no common sense,” Trump said.
An especially tense moment at the press conference occurred after a reporter asked about the crowd sizes at Ms. Harris’s rallies in recent days. Between her events in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan in the last two days, her campaign says it has had more than 40,000 attendees.
“Give me a break,” he said in response to the question, falsely claiming that only 2,000 people attended one of Ms. Harris’s events. He also claimed that he had 20,000 people at his recent Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, rally, even though the event space had only 7,000 seats.
He also claimed that his rally on January 6, 2021, near the White House Ellipse was the same crowd size, if not bigger than, Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington and his “I Have a Dream” speech — an event that drew 250,000 people.
He also hit Ms. Harris for her lack of availability to the press. She has not answered any reporter questions about the campaign or her personal policy positions since announcing her bid more than two weeks ago.
“She’s not doing any news conference,” Trump said. “She’s not smart enough to do a news conference.” When asked if he would be willing to do a daily press conference with reporters, Trump said they would likely “get sick of” him.