Former President Donald Trump has canceled the scheduled ABC debate and proposed a showdown on Fox News instead, causing backlash from the Harris campaign and raising doubts about whether any general election debates will take place.
In a post on Truth Social late Friday night, Trump announced the termination of the originally planned September 10 debate on ABC, citing his legal conflicts with the network and President Joe Biden ending his campaign. Trump had initially agreed to the ABC debate in May, two months after filing a lawsuit against the network and anchor George Stephanopoulos. ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis were set to moderate the September 10 debate.
Trump Proposes Fox News Debate
Trump suggested an alternative debate on September 4 on Fox News in Pennsylvania, with Fox anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum moderating. This proposed debate would take place “in an arena,” unlike the Trump-Biden debate in June, which had no live audience.
However, the Harris campaign did not agree to this new proposal. In a Saturday morning statement, they expressed willingness to discuss further debates only after the one both campaigns had previously agreed to. Harris campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler criticized Trump, stating, “Mr. Anytime, anywhere, anyplace should have no problem with that unless he’s too scared to show up on the 10th,” referencing Trump’s earlier comments about being prepared to debate “anytime, anywhere, anyplace.”
Tyler added that 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 confirmed that Harris would be on stage at the September 10 debate “one way or another.”
Harris Campaign’s Response
A Harris campaign account on X mocked Trump’s reluctance to debate in a meme, while Harris herself confirmed on X that she will “be there on September 10th, like he agreed to.”
Trump doubled down on Saturday afternoon, writing on Truth Social, “I’ll see her on September 4th or, I won’t see her at all.”
Since Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 election, Trump has been noncommittal about the ABC debate, drawing mockery from the Harris campaign and some Democrats, who accused the former president of being “afraid” to face off against Harris.
Democratic National Committee’s Campaign
The Democratic National Committee launched an ad campaign taunting Trump for his refusal to commit to a debate with Harris. Ads on local news outlets’ digital homepages where Trump plans to campaign will state: “The convicted felon is afraid to debate.” The Harris campaign is framing the debate as a showdown between Harris, a former prosecutor, and Trump, a convicted felon.
At a campaign rally in Atlanta last week, Harris challenged Trump directly, saying, “Donald, I do hope you’ll reconsider meeting me on the debate stage. Because as the saying goes, ‘If you got something to say, say it to my face.’”
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