Trump to debate with Harris on ABC but says he wants two more
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The Sept 10 debate between US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Kamala Harris will be their first face-to-face match-up.
PHOTOS: AFP, REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris will debate on Sept 10 on ABC, setting up the first face-to-face match-up between the rivals in what polls show is a close race.
In a news conference at his Palm Beach, Florida, residence, Trump said he wanted additional debates on Sept 4 and Sept 25 that would air on Fox and NBC.
Ms Harris said in a post on X that she was looking forward to the Sept 10 debate after Trump “finally committed”.
The Vice-President told reporters after a Detroit-area campaign stop that she was open to discussing more debates, but a campaign official reiterated their position that a Sept 4 Fox debate is off the table.
Discussions on future debates depend on Trump’s participation in the Sept 10 debate on ABC, the official said.
The Harris campaign had already opposed a Fox debate, saying the host network should be one that sponsored recent primary debates by both parties.
Trump had previously suggested he might back out of the ABC debate, scheduled before Ms Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate
The Sept 10 debate on ABC was to be the second of two agreed upon between Mr Biden and Trump, following their June 27 debate on CNN.
An Ipsos poll published on Aug 8 found Ms Harris has widened her lead over Trump since late July.
She leads Trump 42 per cent to 37 per cent, compared with a July 22-23 Reuters/Ipsos survey that showed her up with 37 per cent versus Trump’s 34 per cent.
The Aug 8 news conference was Trump’s first public appearance since Ms Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
Ms Harris and Mr Walz have headlined rallies in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin this week, drawing tens of thousands of attendees in a fresh sign of how her late entry into the race has galvanised Democrats.
An Aug 8 stop by the Democratic pair at a union hall came as the campaign said it sees labour groups as key to tipping the balance in the election.
Her rapid rise has sent Trump’s team scrambling to recalibrate their strategy and messaging.
Opinion polls show Ms Harris has erased the lead Trump had built over Mr Biden, and Democrats have raked in hundreds of millions of dollars from voters and big donors in a matter of weeks.
Trump insisted on Aug 8 he has not altered his approach to the race.
In a question-and-answer session with reporters that stretched beyond an hour, he hopped from topic to topic and said Ms Harris and Mr Walz are weak candidates.
Nevertheless, he lamented that he is not able to face Mr Biden in the Nov 5 election, suggesting that the President was a victim of a plot to dislodge him from atop the Democratic ticket.
Mr Biden dropped his faltering re-election bid under pressure from fellow Democrats worried about his chances of victory after a poor debate performance against Trump
Asked about his controversial comments last week that Ms Harris, who is of black and Indian descent, recently “happened to turn black”, Trump said: “You’ll have to ask her that question, because she’s the one that said it, I didn’t say it... To me, it doesn’t matter. But to her, from her standpoint, I think it’s very disrespectful to both, really, whether it’s Indian or black, I think it’s very disrespectful to both.”
Trump’s initial comments, delivered to an audience of black journalists, drew widespread condemnation and left donors and aides baffled and alarmed.
The Trump campaign did not immediately comment further to provide evidence of remarks by Ms Harris that Trump said he was referring to.
Trump also mocked the size of Ms Harris’ campaign crowds, even though they have matched his of late.
He falsely claimed the size of the crowd he addressed on Jan 6, 2021 – the day his supporters stormed the US Capitol
“We actually had more people,” Trump said. “But I’m OK with it, because I liked Dr Martin Luther King.”
King delivered his speech to an estimated 250,000 people in August 1963, according to the National Constitution Centre.
Trump’s rally on Jan 6, 2021, drew about 53,000 supporters, according to the House of Representatives Select Committee’s “187 minutes of dereliction” report.
Echoing a recent criticism from his campaign, Trump criticised Ms Harris for not doing a press interview since launching her campaign.
“She can’t do an interview. She’s barely competent,” he said, later again calling her “nasty”, a go-to line that he often uses to disparage female critics.
Trump has conducted a steady stream of media interviews, though they are usually with friendly, right-leaning outlets and reporters. On Aug 5, he called into the Fox & Friends morning programme and took questions from the programme’s hosts.
Trump announced the Palm Beach news conference on the morning of Aug 8 on his social media platform.
Only a select group of reporters was given the advance notice needed to travel to his Florida resort in time. Reuters was not extended an invitation.
Ms Harris answered a handful of questions from reporters after meeting auto workers in Wayne, Michigan, on Aug 8, following the United Auto Workers union’s endorsement of her candidacy.
She said she wants to schedule a sit-down interview “before the end of the month”. REUTERS
