FFormer President Donald Trump has agreed to participate in three presidential debates with Vice President Kamala Harris, setting up a likely confrontation between the new adversaries on stage before the November elections.
It remains unclear whether Harris will agree to all three debates outlined by Trump. Both agreed to a debate on ABC on September 10. Trump also said he agreed to appear on Fox News on September 4 and on NBC on September 25.
“I’m looking forward to the debates, because I think we have to set the record straight,” Trump said at a news conference on Thursday at his home in Mar-a-Lago, South Florida. “I think it’s very important that we have them. I hope she agrees with them… I think they will be very revealing.” He called Harris a “bad debater.”
Harris’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
See more information: Presidential Debates in History That Moved the Needle
Trump’s comments come less than a week after he said he would withdraw from the previously scheduled September debate on ABC. He claimed his deal “has been terminated” because he will no longer face President Joe Biden, who ended his re-election campaign last month after a disastrous debate performance against Trump. Trump also said the ABC debate could be a conflict of interest because he is in litigation against the network and anchor George Stephanopoulos. Harris’ campaign seized on Trump’s cancellation, framing the former president as “afraid to debate” in a series of attack ads.
“We welcomed Joe Biden and now we welcome someone else,” Trump said Thursday. “And I think, frankly, I’d rather run against someone else.”
Trump also said Thursday that his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, would participate in a vice presidential debate on CBS. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who was named Harris’ running mate, previously said he would be willing to debate Vance: “And I have to say: I can’t wait to debate this guy,” Walz said on August 6. .
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
