Trump and Harris Agree to Debate
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Facts
- ABC News confirmed on Thursday that former Pres. Donald Trump and Vice Pres. Kamala Harris will face off in a presidential debate on Sept. 10, after the Republican agreed to the matchup in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago.[1][2]
- The network added that its anchors, David Muir and Linsey Davis, will moderate the debate. The exact format — including whether or not there will be a live audience — and ground rules are yet to be determined.[3][4]
- This comes as Trump, who was set to debate Pres. Joe Biden on ABC News on Sept. 10, declared last weekend that his agreement had been 'terminated' as Biden left the race, and proposed a single debate with Harris on Fox News on Sept. 4.[5][6][7]
- On Wednesday, however, the Republican told 'FOX & Friends' that he was willing to debate Harris — and though he preferred to do so on Fox, he was open to a debate on ABC News despite his litigation against anchor George Stephanopoulos.[8][9]
- Trump further said on Thursday that he agreed to two other debates against Harris, one on Sept. 4 on Fox News and the other on Sept. 25 on NBC News. Harris has yet to agree to these debates, and her campaign said further showdown would only be confirmed if Trump shows up to the ABC debate.[10][11][3]
- The Trump campaign also agreed to a vice presidential debate on CBS News next month, to which the Harris campaign had already agreed.[12][13]
Sources: [1]ABC News, [2]CNN, [3]BBC News, [4]New York Times, [5]CBS (a), [6]Associated Press, [7]Donald Trump on TruthSocial, [8]FOX News (a), [9]FOX News (b), [10]New York Post, [11]NBC, [12]CBS (b) and [13]Daily Caller.
Narratives
- Democratic narrative, as provided by The New Republic. Trump was forced to recalibrate his debate strategy after his take-it-or-leave-it Fox News offer backfired, disappointing even some of his fans. It's no wonder that the candidate who spent weeks running away from a debate is now interested in not just one but three showdowns: He is desperate ahead of an imminent defeat.
- Democratic narrative, as provided by MSNBC. Trump was forced to recalibrate his debate strategy after his take-it-or-leave-it Fox News offer backfired, disappointing even some of his fans. It's no wonder that the candidate who spent weeks running away from a debate is now interested in not just one but three showdowns: He is desperate ahead of an imminent defeat.
- Republican narrative, as provided by Daily Wire. Democrats and their media allies have claimed that Trump was dodging the September debate only to have their lies now exposed. Actually, it's Kamala Harris who is terrified to face off against Trump as she has no experience in presidential debates and knows nothing about anything. Trump has already agreed to three debates, will Harris follow suit?
- Republican narrative, as provided by FOX News. Democrats and their media allies have claimed that Trump was dodging the September debate only to have their lies now exposed. Actually, it's Kamala Harris who is terrified to face off against Trump as she has no experience in presidential debates and knows nothing about anything. Trump has already agreed to three debates, will Harris follow suit?