Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci signaled Saturday that former President Trump could face “disaster” if he doesn’t debate Vice President Harris before November.
Harris, who was officially named on Friday to lead the Democratic ticket in the fall, pressured Trump to agree to debate her on the Sept. 10, headlined ABC News, which he originally scheduled with President Biden, who has dropped out of the race. last month.
Asked in the CNN newsroom about his opinion on the matter, Scaramucci said the back-and-forth was “typical” for Trump, but predicted he would debate “100 percent” with Harris.
“There will be a negotiation. It probably won’t be Fox News. It probably won’t be ABC News. But they will pick a venue and debate,” he told weekend host Jessica Dean on Saturday. “So, it’s him posturing. It’s him trying to get attention.”
“It’s difficult for him, but he’s been fighting for the last three weeks to gain attention,” he continued, adding that “it would be a disaster for him if he didn’t debate the vice president.”
The former president retreated from the original date of the debate, proposing September 4th as an alternative, writing on friday in an online post that he agreed to debate Harris previously, but only if it’s on Fox News.
“The debate was previously scheduled against Sleepy Biden on ABC, but was terminated because Biden will no longer be a participant, and I am in litigation against ABC Network and George Slopadopoulos, thus creating a conflict of interest,” the former president wrote on Social Truth.
Michael Tyler, communications director for Harris’ campaign, said in a previous statement to The Hill that Harris will attend the Sept. 10 ABC debate even if Trump does not attend.
“As Vice President Harris said last week, the American people deserve to hear from both candidates running for the highest office in the land and she will do that in the ABC debate in September,” Tyler said. “If Donald Trump and his team are saying anything other than ‘see you there’—and it appears they are—it’s a convenient but expected backslide from the Trump team. Vice President Harris will be there on September 10th – we’ll see if Trump shows up.”
Scaramucci said Trump knows that if he doesn’t debate Harris, he will have to endure weeks of “getting beaten up by her” and his potential running mate over the decision.
Trump argued earlier this week that a debate with Harris was not necessary, citing her lead in polls. He took a similar stance during the Republican primary race, when he chose to sit out the debates.
“Well, I want to. And it looks like we’re still leading in the polls by a little bit,” Trump said, pointing to the shift after Biden withdrew from the race last month. “She’s better than him, but I think ultimately she’ll be worse than him.”
Harris’ campaign responded to the pushback, painting the GOP candidate as “too scared” to face it.
The Hill reached out to the Trump campaign.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
