Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard offered her views on why she thinks Vice President Kamala Harris is likely “afraid” to debate former President Donald Trump during an interview on conservative radio host David Webb’s program on Tuesday. “Given what we’ve seen so far and this debate over the debate, what’s your take?” Webb asked to kick off the segment.
“First of all, the fact that there is a debate over the debate is very telling in and of itself. You know, Donald Trump’s campaign and Kamala Harris’s campaign, they agreed to this debate on September 10th, to the same rules that applied during Trump Biden debate on CNN that we already saw,” Gabbard, a U.S. Army veteran and former Hawaii congresswoman who endorsed Trump last week, began.
“Now all of a sudden, we’re just two weeks out from, just under two weeks out from this debate that they already agreed to and Kamala Harris is trying to change the rules. She wants it to be a debate where they allow the mics to be live the entire time, where she can bring her notes in to the debate with her, and where they will be seated for the entire debate,” Gabbard continued. “President Trump’s position has been pretty clear where he says, hey, look, we already agreed to the terms of this debate. We should stick with those terms, which is the same rules that he debated Joe Biden under.
“These debates are an opportunity for voters to be able to look at and listen to these candidates running for president and compare and contrast their record, their positions and their capability,” Gabbard added. “You know, the problem with Kamala Harris is not – her wanting to bring notes into this debate reinforces what we already know to be true, which is she absolutely struggles if she is not using a script, if she is not using a teleprompter.
“And in this case, apparently, if she doesn’t have notes in front of her, telling her what her position is supposed to be, what her answer should be on different issues. They’re making this request in the last hours here, the last days before this debate, really reveals more of her weakness and her vulnerability. And quite frankly, if this debate still happens, where President Trump has an opportunity to challenge her on her record because she has quite a significant record on all of the important issues of the day. And let her respond,” she said. “What voters will very likely see is how unprepared she is and how she struggles without having her pollsters telling her what she is supposed to say.”
According to a Truth Social post from Trump, he and Harris have agreed on the ground rules for their previously scheduled Sept. 10 debate on ABC. He wrote: I have reached an agreement with the Radical Left Democrats for a Debate with Comrade Kamala Harris. It will be Broadcast Live on ABC FAKE NEWS, by far the nastiest and most unfair newscaster in the business, on Tuesday, September 10th, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Rules will be the same as the last CNN Debate, which seemed to work out well for everyone except, perhaps, Crooked Joe Biden. The Debate will be “stand up,” and Candidates cannot bring notes, or ‘cheat sheets.’
Trump continued: “We have also been given assurance by ABC that this will be a “fair and equitable” Debate, and that neither side will be given the questions in advance (No Donna Brazile!). Harris would not agree to the FoxNews Debate on September 4th, but that date will be held open in case she changes her mind or, Flip Flops, as she has done on every single one of her long held and cherished policy beliefs. A possible third Debate, which would go to NBC FAKE NEWS, has not been agreed to by the Radical Left. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”