Former President Donald Trump has formally challenged Vice President Kamala Harris to multiple debates following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race.
In a call with reporters on Tuesday, Trump emphasized the importance of debates in the presidential election process and his readiness to face off against the presumptive Democratic nominee.
“Oh yes, absolutely, I want to,” Trump said about debating Harris. “I would be willing to do more than one debate, actually.”
“I think it’s important,” Trump said about presidential debates. “I think if you’re in the Democratic nominee or Republican nominee, you really have an obligation to debate.”
Trump’s eagerness to face off with Harris comes in the wake of his June 27 debate with Biden, a historic turning point in the Democratic campaign.
Biden’s poor performance in that debate ultimately led to his decision to withdraw from the presidential race.
Trump also took the opportunity to criticize mainstream media outlets. In particular, Trump targeted ABC News, which was previously scheduled to host a September 10 debate between Trump and Biden.
“I’m not thrilled about ABC News, because they truly are fake news,” Trump said. “They’re actually trying to make a hero out of Joe Biden when he was the worst president in history, and they were doing things like with Kamala, like what a wonderful thing that she is running.”
Instead, Trump said his preference was for Fox News to host a debate, reminding reporters that he has “equal say” in determining the upcoming debate criteria.
Trump pointed out that he hasn’t formally agreed to any debates yet with Kamala’s campaign, leaving room for negotiation on the specifics.
“I want to debate her, and she’ll be no different,” he stressed.
The former president also touched on the vice-presidential debate, indicating that his campaign had previously decided not to commit to a debate between his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, and Harris when she was still in the VP role.
With both candidates seemingly ready to engage, the negotiations over debate format, hosting, and scheduling are expected to be closely watched in the coming months.