Donald Trump, Trump (Photo: Reuters)
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has announced that he will debate Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris on Fox News on September 4. He made the announcement late Friday night in a message on Truth Social. However, Harris’ campaign has not confirmed the event.
“The rules will be similar to the rules of my debate with Sleepy Joe, who was treated horribly by his party, but with a packed audience,” Trump said, referring to President Joe Biden, who has since dropped his re-election bid.
Harris’ campaign said it had no comment. Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s statement came shortly after the Democratic National Committee launched an ad campaign on Friday challenging him by saying that “the convicted felon is afraid to debate” and asking whether that was because of his stance on abortion.
After Biden withdrew from the race on July 21 and endorsed Harris, Trump said he would not debate her because she was not the official nominee.
On Friday, Harris secured the delegate votes needed to secure the Democratic nomination.
Trump’s post was deleted for a few minutes before being reposted, with Trump removing his proposal for a “large” town hall meeting on the same date if Harris “would not be willing or able to debate.”
Harris had already responded last month that she was “ready” after Fox News suggested the two candidates would hold a presidential debate on September 17.
Trump said the debate would take place in the state of Pennsylvania, where the battle for victory is still raging, with a “capacity audience.” The first and only debate this year between Trump and Biden had no audience on site.
First print: 03 Aug 2024 | 19:07 IST