Former President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he has agreed to a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris in September. This announcement counters claims from the Harris campaign that Trump has been avoiding debates, despite his previous agreements. In his Truth Social post, Trump confirmed the debate will take place on September 4. It will be hosted by Fox News, with Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum serving as moderators.
“I have agreed with FoxNews to debate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, September 4th,” the former president wrote. “The Debate was previously scheduled against Sleepy Joe Biden on ABC, but has been terminated in that Biden will no longer be a participant, and I am in litigation against ABC Network and George Slopadopoulos, thereby creating a conflict of interest.”
“The FoxNews Debate will be held in the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, at a site in an area to be determined,” Trump continued. “The Moderators of the Debate will be Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, and the Rules will be similar to the Rules of my Debate with Sleepy Joe, who has been treated horribly by his Party — BUT WITH A FULL ARENA AUDIENCE!”
Harris has been trying to adhere to the debate schedule set earlier this year by both Trump and President Biden. The two candidates had initially agreed to a debate on September 10, hosted by ABC News. However, Trump has indicated that Harris would need to negotiate a new date, as the original event was scheduled by Biden. In response, the Harris campaign has accused Trump of attempting to avoid the debate.
If agreed upon, the new debate will be held in Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state. Trump is also advocating for a live audience, contrasting with the first debate between him and President Biden, which was filmed in CNN’s Atlanta studios. Trump added that the new debate would largely follow the same format as the CNN debate, including the feature of muting each candidate’s microphone while the other is speaking.
The September 4 date is set just before early voting begins in Pennsylvania and will occur after Harris has officially received the Democratic nomination for president. Trump has insisted on scheduling a post-convention debate to ensure that Democrats do not choose a new candidate at the last minute, disregarding their primary voters.
Last month, a federal judge in New York rejected ABC News’ and Stephanopoulos’s efforts to avoid a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump, who, in a legal filing, is alleging that the former Bill Clinton operative defamed him during a March interview, stating that the ex-president was “liable for rape” in a lawsuit filed by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll.
U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga, in a detailed ruling, rejected the motion to dismiss, stating that there were sufficient grounds for the case to proceed. “The Court has carefully considered the record, the parties’ written submissions, and applicable law. For the following reasons, the Motion is denied,” Altonaga, an appointee of former Republican President George W. Bush, wrote.
The decision now sets the stage for Trump to escalate his battle against the network and Stephanopoulos for the next phase. The dispute revolves around a contentious segment in which Stephanopoulos, during a conversation with a lawmaker Nancy Mace (R-SC.), claimed that Trump was implicated in a rape. “A reasonable jury could interpret Stephanopoulos’s statements as defamatory,” wrote Altonaga. “Stephanopoulos’s exchange with Mace lasted about ten minutes, during which Stephanopoulos stated ten times that a jury — or juries — had found Plaintiff liable for rape.”
“New York has opted to separate the crime of rape. Stephanopoulos’s statements dealt not with the public’s usage of that term, but the jury’s consideration of it during a formal legal proceeding,” the ruling stated.