So far, it looks like Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump – the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, respectively – have agreed to at least one debate. Today, Trump said he’s expecting to do two more.
Plans for the debates are a bit confusing, so bear with us.
Initially Trump and President Joe Biden agreed to two debates, one in June and one in September. As we all know, the June debate hosted by CNN did not go well for Biden. He eventually stepped down last month as the Democratic candidate amid concerns about his age.
Last weekend, Trump said in a Truth Social post that he agreed to debate Harris in a Fox News-hosted event on Sept. 4 that would have a “full arena audience,” while the CNN debate was an audience-free event. In an X post, Harris said that she would debate the former president, but “on September 10th, like he agreed to.”
This Thursday, Trump said: “I think it’s very important to have debates, and we’ve agreed with Fox on a date of Sept. 4. We’ve agreed with NBC, fairly full agreement – subject to them – on Sept. 10. And we’ve agreed with ABC on Sept. 25. So, we have those three dates with those networks,” during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.
“I am looking forward to debating Donald Trump, and we have a date of Sept. 10,” Harris said in response to a Thursday question, according to NBC News. “I hear he’s finally committed to it, and I’m looking forward to it.”
NBC said Harris didn’t respond when asked about the other two dates Trump mentioned.
“The other side has to agree to the terms. They may or may not agree. I don’t know if they’re going to agree,” said Trump during the Thursday news conference. “She hasn’t done an interview. She can’t do an interview. She’s barely competent and she can’t do an interview.”
Trump has already said he doesn’t plan to play “nice” with Harris, who has given many interviews in the past and has, of course, participated in debates. However, her lack of press conferences and interviews in the weeks since Biden stepped down has brought questions and criticisms from the right.
Newsweek reported Thursday that Harris gave an update on her interview plans.
“I’ve talked to my team, I want to get an interview scheduled before the end of the month,” Harris said, according to the outlet.
After vetting multiple contenders, Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate this week. They are expected to headline the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., next week, where they are also expected to officially become the Democratic ticket.
“Further details about the potential interview were unclear, including whether Harris intends to participate in one before or after the convention,” said Newsweek.