PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Former president donald trump says he will hold a news conference on Thursday at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida beachfront compound, making his first public appearance since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee and chose governor of Minnesota’s Tim Walz as his running mate.
Trump announced the event at 2pm EDT on his Truth Social network and posted that he was looking forward to debating Harris.
He had teased a presidential debate announcement earlier this week after withdrawing from an ABC News debate scheduled for September 10. Trump has said he would prefer Fox News to sponsor the debate, but on Wednesday showed a willingness to reconsider ABC.
“I’m going to expose Kamala during the debate the same way I exposed Crooked Joe, Hillary and everyone else during the debates,” he said on Truth Social, referring to Democrats Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. “I just think Kamala will be easier.”
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, criticized Harris for not holding a news conference or giving interviews since Biden stepped away from his presidential re-election campaign and she launched her campaign from the White House. Harris sometimes responds to shouted questions when boarding or exiting the plane for campaign stops.
