Kamala Harris says she is willing to do two debates with Donald Trump
ABC News has released new details about the debate it will be hosting between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump.
On Friday, ABC revealed that the first debate will take place in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center on 10 September at 9pm EDT. It will be moderated by David Muir, who anchors World News Tonight, and Linsey Davis, a news anchor and correspondent. It will be available to watch on ABC, ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.
The Harris campaign has dismissed calls from Donald Trump to hold more than two presidential debates, issuing a statement on Thursday that the “debate about debates is over.” Kamala Harris has indicated that she is prepared to debate Trump again after the vice-presidential debate, which is now scheduled for 1 October.
Trump has pushed repeatedly for there to be three presidential debates. On 8 August, he said that he had negotiated debates with ABC, NBC and Fox News. One of Trump’s advisors said that Trump will hold town halls if the Vice President rejects the additional debates.
The candidates for vice president, JD Vance and Tim Walz, are now also scheduled to meet. Their debate will take place on 1 October in New York City and will be hosted by CBS.
Vance, like his running-mate, also wants there to be multiple debates.
“The American people deserve as many debates as possible, which is why President Trump has challenged Kamala to three of them already. Not only do I accept the CBS debate on Oct. 1, I accept the CNN debate on Sept. 18 as well. I look forward to seeing you at both!” Vance Tweeted after the date for the first debate was set.
So far, Tim Walz has not responded to Vance’s call for a second debate.
The willingness or otherwise of the Vice President to debate and make media appearances in general has drawn stinging criticism from Donald Trump.
At a rally in Bozeman, Arizona, Trump blasted Harris for her refusal to hold press conferences and be interviewed since her selection to be the Democrat presidential candidate.
“When you’re the commander in chief, you don’t get to run and hide away from the press,” Trump said.
“If you can’t do a press conference, you can’t be president,” he added.