Former President Donald Trump said the scheduled Sept. 10 debate against Vice President Kamala Harris is back on after arguing that the ABC News-sponsored event would be riddled with biased moderators.
“I have reached an agreement with the Radical Left Democrats for a Debate with Comrade Kamala Harris,” Trump posted Tuesday afternoon on Truth Social. “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 former president seemed to suggest he would skip the debate next month just two days ago, as he claimed ABC News was full of “Trump Haters,” and there were some alleged reports that the two campaigns disagreed over the use of muting microphones when the candidates are not speaking.
During the June debate against President Joe Biden on CNN, microphones were muted when the two leaders were not speaking. The Harris campaign reportedly wanted the microphones to stay on irrespective of when the candidates were speaking.
“Both candidates have publicly made clear their willingness to debate with unmuted mics for the duration of the debate to fully allow for substantive exchanges between the candidates – but it appears Donald Trump is letting his handlers overrule him. Sad!” a Harris campaign spokesperson told the Washington Examiner.
Trump, in his Tuesday post, laid out the debate terms that he had agreed to ahead of the event. “The Debate will be ‘stand up,’ and Candidates cannot bring notes, or ‘cheat sheets.’ 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!),” he wrote of the former Democratic National Committee chairwoman.
However, a source familiar with campaign thinking said whether to mute or unmute microphones during the debate remains an ongoing conversation with ABC.
The debate is scheduled to take place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and will be moderated by World News Tonight anchor David Muir and ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis.
Trump had agreed to three debates against Harris, including a Fox News-sponsored debate on Sept. 4, but the vice president’s campaign declined the offer. A third debate hosted by NBC News and scheduled for Sept. 25 also appears to have been turned down by Harris, although Trump still appears amenable to it.
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“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,” Trump added. “A possible third Debate, which would go to NBC FAKE NEWS, has not been agreed to by the Radical Left. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
The Washington Examiner reached out to ABC News for comment.
