Vice President Kamala Harris is planning to show up for the previously agreed-upon debate set for September 10 on ABC – even if Donald Trump does not, a source familiar with the matter said. The source says their understanding is ABC News would provide airtime to whichever candidate showed up – even if that ended up being just Harris. Saturday morning, Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement that Trump needs to “stop playing games” with the presidential debate. “Donald Trump is running scared and trying to back out of the debate he already agreed to and running straight to Fox News to bail him out,” Tyler said. “He needs to stop playing games and show up to the debate he already committed to on Sept 10. The vice president will be there one way or the other to take the opportunity to speak to a prime time national audience.” Tyler said the Harris team would be “happy to discuss further debates after the one both campaigns have already agreed to.” “Mr. Anytime, anywhere, anyplace should have no problem with that unless he’s too scared to show up on the 10th,” Tyler added.
Quick Read
- Florida deputy killed: A Florida sheriff’s deputy was killed in an ambush shooting inside a home in Eustis, Florida.
- Two deputies wounded: Two other deputies were wounded while attempting to reach the first officer.
- Ambush details: The shooting occurred on Friday night when deputies responded to a disturbance report.
- Initial encounter: Deputies found a door that appeared to have been kicked in and were met with heavy gunfire upon entering the home.
- First deputy trapped: One deputy was shot and trapped inside the home; the others retreated under heavy fire.
- Rescue attempt: Additional officers formed a team to retrieve the trapped deputy but faced a “hail of gunfire,” resulting in another deputy being struck.
- Fatal outcome: The first deputy shot did not survive; the second deputy was in stable condition with a shoulder wound, and the third was undergoing surgery for multiple injuries.
- SWAT involvement: SWAT team members stormed the house, finding two suspects dead and a third wounded.
- No prior violence: There was no history of violent crime at the home, and the situation was unexpected.
- Sheriff’s remarks: Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell described the scene as chaotic and emphasized the difficulty of the situation.
The Associated Press has the story:
Trump backs out of ABC debate for FOX, Harris plans to use ABC debate time even if he doesn’t show up
Newslooks- Washington- (AP)
Vice President Kamala Harris is planning to show up for the previously agreed-upon debate set for September 10 on ABC – even if Donald Trump does not, a source familiar with the matter said. The source says their understanding is ABC News would provide airtime to whichever candidate showed up – even if that ended up being just Harris. Saturday morning, Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement that Trump needs to “stop playing games” with the presidential debate.
“Donald Trump is running scared and trying to back out of the debate he already agreed to and running straight to Fox News to bail him out,” Tyler said. “He needs to stop playing games and show up to the debate he already committed to on Sept 10. The vice president will be there one way or the other to take the opportunity to speak to a prime time national audience.” Tyler said the Harris team would be “happy to discuss further debates after the one both campaigns have already agreed to.” “Mr. Anytime, anywhere, anyplace should have no problem with that unless he’s too scared to show up on the 10th,” Tyler added.
Trump says he is pulling out of a scheduled September debate with Harris on ABC and wants them to face off on Fox News, making it increasingly unlikely that the candidates will confront each other on stage before the November election. In a series of Truth Social posts late Friday, the Republican nominee and former president said his agreement to a Sept. 10 debate on ABC “has been terminated” because he will no longer face Democratic President Joe Biden, who ended his campaign last month after a disastrous performance in their first debate.
Trump now says he will appear on Fox News on Sept. 4 in Pennsylvania with rules that he called “similar” to his debate with Biden, but with a full audience instead of a mostly empty studio. Trump said that if Harris, the likely Democratic nominee, does not agree to the new network and date, he will do a “major Town Hall” with Fox News. It was not immediately clear whether ABC would turn its Sept. 10 event into a Harris town hall in Trump’s absence. Tyler said Harris is committed to the time slot and would appear “one way or the other to take the opportunity to speak to a prime time national audience.”
In a subsequent Truth Social post on Saturday afternoon, Trump said of Harris, “I’ll see her on September 4th or, I won’t see her at all.” Trump has gone back and forth on debating with Harris since she entered the presidential race. He had told reporters he felt an obligation to debate but also said in a recent Fox News interview that he thought Americans “already know everything” about both candidates Harris has pressed Trump to keep the commitment he made when Biden was in the race. Noting Trump’s criticisms of her, Harris dared him recently to “say it to my face.”
In his Truth Social posts, Trump also cited his litigation against ABC News as “a conflict of interest” in his participation in the network’s debate. Trump sued the network in March following an assertion by anchor George Stephanopoulos that Trump had been found “liable for rape.” A New York jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll but rejected her claim that she was raped.
But Trump agreed, two months after filing his lawsuit, to the Sept. 10 debate on ABC, as well as the June 27 debate on CNN that helped knock Biden out of the race. David Muir and Linsey Davis, not Stephanopoulos, are set to be ABC’s debate moderators. Trump has skipped debates before, including all the 2024 Republican presidential primary debates.
