ABC News is scrambling to salvage its planned presidential debate, but the event may not take place because the Disney-owned network is in a legal battle with the Republican candidate.
Former President Trump announced Saturday that the ABC debate has been “cancelled” because candidate President Biden, who had agreed to debate on Sept. 10, “will no longer participate.”
“[A]I am filing a lawsuit against ABC Network and George Slopadopulos.[sic]That creates a conflict of interest,” Trump wrote to Truth Social.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her supporters have accused Trump of “shirking” the ABC debate, even though it was negotiated and agreed upon between the Trump and Biden campaigns, not the Trump and Harris campaigns. ABC’s David Muir and Lindsey Davis were scheduled to host the September showdown.
Judge rules Stephanopoulos can move forward in Trump defamation lawsuit against ABC
Former President Trump announced he would not attend a scheduled ABC presidential debate with President Biden, who later dropped out of the race to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)
Harris’ campaign has repeatedly said she will be there whether Trump shows up or not, leaving open the question of what ABC plans to do with the time allotted. When reached for comment, ABC referred Fox News Digital to spokesperson Michael Tyler, who said Trump is “running away in fear.”
“The vice president will be there anyway for the opportunity to speak to a national audience in prime time.” Tyler said“I’m happy to discuss further debates beyond the ones the sides have already agreed to. Mr. Anytime, Anywhere, Anywhere should have no problem with that, unless he’s too scared to show up on the 10th.”
Late last month, Trump won a court victory after ABC unsuccessfully tried to have a defamation lawsuit he filed earlier this year dismissed.
“A jury may decide, after seeing that piece, that there was sufficient context. But a reasonable juror “We conclude that plaintiffs have been defamed and, as a result, dismissal of the lawsuit is improper,” Judge Cecilia Altonaga of the U.S. District Court in Miami wrote in her ruling.
The lawsuit stems from ABC’s George Stephanopoulos falsely claiming in March that Trump was “responsible for rape” in a civil lawsuit against the Republican presidential nominee.
ABC should defend George Stephanopoulos in Trump defamation lawsuit, legal experts say
Stephanopoulos’ comments came during a tense exchange with Rep. Nancy Mace, D-Calif., on “This Week” Sunday. After playing a clip of Mace speaking about a rape victim, Stephanopoulos asked her, “How do you reconcile your claims that you support Donald Trump with the testimony that we just saw?”
“You supported Donald Trump as president. A judge and two separate juries have found him guilty of rape and defaming a rape victim,” Stephanopoulos said, referring to the legal victory of Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll.
In an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace in March, George Stephanopoulos said that former President Trump had been found “responsible for rape” on multiple occasions. (Screenshot/ABC News)
Stephanopoulos repeated this claim 10 times during his argument with Mace, even though the jury actually found Trump liable for “sexual abuse,” which is clearly defined under New York state law.
ABC News anchor He maintained a defiant attitude toward the lawsuit. During an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in May.
“Trump sued me because I used the word ‘rape,’ even though the judge said what actually happened was rape,” Stephanopoulos said. “We have filed a motion to dismiss the case.”
Legal experts say ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos inaccurately reported that Trump “was responsible for rape” 10 times
After a federal jury found Trump responsible for sexual abuse but not for rape, Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in a subsequent ruling that Carroll’s failure to prove rape within the meaning of New York criminal law did not mean she could not prove that “Trump ‘raped’ her in the way that many commonly understand the word ‘rape.'”
A source familiar with the matter said Trump initially agreed to the ABC debate in May, about two months after he filed his defamation lawsuit against Stephanopoulos and the television network.
ABC is scrambling to salvage the presidential debate originally scheduled between Trump and Biden. (Gary Hirschhorn/Getty Images)
Further scuppering ABC’s chances of hosting a presidential debate were acrimonious exchanges between Trump and ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott, who clashed with Trump during a panel discussion at the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual conference in Chicago last week. Harris was invited but did not attend.
Scott began the discussion by “addressing the elephant in the room.”
Trump clashes with ABC News reporter over ‘nasty questions’, slams ‘Fake News Network’ in heated Q&A
“Many people found it inappropriate for you to be here today. You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals, from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama, that they were not born in the United States, which is not true. You have told four congresswomen of color who are U.S. citizens to go back where they came from. You have described black lawyers using words like ‘animalistic’ and ‘violent.’ You have attacked black journalists, calling them ‘losers’ and calling their questions ‘stupid and racist,'” Scott said.
“You dined with white supremacists at the Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question is, why should black voters trust you when you use language like that now as you’re urging black voters to vote?” she continued.
Former President Trump got into a heated exchange with ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) conference in Chicago. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a worse first question, where they didn’t even say, ‘Hello, how are you?'” Trump responded.
“Are you on the side of ABC? Because I think they’re a fake news station, a terrible station,” Trump continued. “I came here with good feelings and I think it’s disgraceful. I love the black people of this country. I’ve done a lot for the black people of this country.”
The exchange set the tone for the debate that followed, with Trump repeatedly attacking the ABC reporter.
The Trump campaign referred Fox News Digital to Trump’s previous comments about Stephanopoulos, who also referred the network to ABC News for comment.
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Meanwhile, Trump has agreed to appear at a presidential debate hosted by Fox News Channel in Pennsylvania on Sept. 4, a week before the scheduled ABC debate. Harris has not yet accepted the invitation.
The ABC showdown was meant to be the second presidential debate between Trump and Biden — the first was on CNN, where Biden performed disastrously and ultimately dropped out of the race — and with Biden’s endorsement, Harris quickly emerged as the Democratic front-runner.
Fox News’ David Lutz and Brian Flood contributed to this report.
