Former President Donald Trump bashed Vice President Kamala Harris Monday night for reportedly refusing to participate in the September 4 debate hosted by Fox News.
“Comrade Kamala Harris has just informed us that she will NOT do the FoxNews Debate on September 4th,” Trump wrote to Truth Social while the first night of the Democratic National Convention kicked off in Chicago.
“I am not surprised by this development because I feel that she knows it is very difficult, at best, for her to defend her record setting Flip-Flopping on absolutely everything she once believed in,” the post continued. Trump specifically called out Harris’ past comments on banning fracking, and again accused Harris of working as President Joe Biden‘s “Border Czar” for the past four years.
Harris’ campaign has not confirmed that they declined to participate in the September 4 debate.
The Context
Trump began pushing for a Fox News debate with Harris after he backed out of participating in a September 10 debate on ABC News. The former president had previously agreed to the debate date while Biden was still running as the Democratic presidential nominee.
Trump later reversed course again and agreed to participate in the ABC debate. He has also accepted a debate invite from NBC News for September 25.
In a statement to Newsweek last week, a Harris campaign aide said over email, “We’re pleased Trump finally agreed to debate the vice president on ABC after previously trying to back out.”
“We are open to another debate, and we’ll continue those conversations,” the campaign official added. “But to be clear, any additional debate would be subject to Trump actually showing up on September 10. We’re not playing his games.”
Newsweek reached out to Harris’ campaign Monday evening for comment via email.
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What We Know
Trump said in his post Monday night that he plans to attend a “Tele-Town Hall” hosted by Fox News’ Sean Hannity on September 4 instead of the debate. The event will reportedly take place in Pennsylvania.
Harris’ campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement last week that the vice president’s team plans to participate in three debates this election season, including a second debate against Trump sometime in October.
Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has also agreed to face his Republican rival, Ohio Senator JD Vance, at a debate on October 1, which will be hosted by CBS News.
“Voters deserve to see the candidates for the highest office in the land share their competing visions for our future,” Tyler said in the statement. “The more they play games, the more insecure and unserious Trump and Vance reveal themselves to be to the American people. Those games end now.”
Views
Experts previously told Newsweek that a Fox debate between Trump and Harris could backfire for the former president. Todd Graham, a debate professor at Southern Illinois University, said that giving Harris a platform on Fox could give her a chance to speak directly to conservative voters, highlighting that Democrat and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has given successful interviews on the network.
“One reason for Harris to debate on Fox is what I’ll call the Buttigieg effect,” Graham said in a previous interview with Newsweek’s Flynn Nicholls. “Every time he goes on Fox, he converts more and more of their viewers. But wow, do you have to be just perfect in order to accomplish that.”
Graham also warned that while Trump’s supporters are likely to blame a host network if the former president performs poorly during a debate, if Trump underperforms while on a friendly network on Fox, it could signal a significant win for Harris’ campaign.
What’s Next?
The September 10 debate will take place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and start at 9 p.m. EST. The event will be moderated by ABC News’ David Muir and Lindsey Davis. Further details about the debate format, such as if it will include a live audience, are not known at this time.
Update 08/20/24, 12:45 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and background.