Former President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he has finally come to an agreement with “radical left Democrats” for a debate with “comrade Kamala Harris” to take place on Tuesday, Sept. 10 on ABC.
Harris initially announced she was “ready” to debate Trump in late July, but details such as the rules for the debate have been under discussion. Recently, her campaign called for changes to the debate rules and asked for her microphone to be unmuted, leading many to speculate that this was because her campaign wanted one more “I'm speaking” moment.
A person familiar with the negotiations said: Politico Playbook“She is happy to engage with him even when he tries to get in the way, and he is prone to some very unprincipled outbursts because he seems upset with her… The campaign wants viewers to hear. [that].”
The Trump campaign fired back, arguing that the ABC debate was agreed to under the same terms as the CNN debate, including muting microphones.
“The Harris campaign requested a seated debate with transcripts and opening statements after already agreeing to the CNN rules. We said there would be no changes to the agreed-upon rules,” said Jason Miller, a senior Trump adviser.
That being said, in the end the rules would be the same as the CNN debate, so Trump announced he had won the fight.
“I have reached an agreement with the Radical Left Democrats for a debate with Comrade Kamala Harris. The debate will be on Tuesday, September 10th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcast live on the most mean and unfair news anchors in the business, ABC Fake News,” Trump announced on Truth Social.
“The rules were the same as the last CNN debate and seemed to work for everyone except maybe unscrupulous Joe Biden: the debates were 'standing' and candidates were not allowed to bring notes or 'cheat sheets',” Trump explained.
“We've also been assured by ABC that the debate will be 'fair and impartial,' and that neither side will be given questions in advance (no Donna Brazile!),” Harris said, noting that they were unable to agree to Harris' participation in a Fox News debate on Sept. 4. But they added that they would “keep that date open in case Ms. Harris changes her mind or reverses herself, as she has done one by one on her long-held policy beliefs.”
“A possible third debate featuring NBC Fake News is not something the Radical Left has agreed to,” Trump added.
God bless America!”
