Trump and Harris to debate on ABC

U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic rival Kamala Harris will debate on Sept. 10 on ABC, the network confirmed on Thursday, while Trump said he wants to add two more debates that month on Fox and NBC.

 

In a rambling news conference at his Palm Beach, Florida, residence, Trump said he wanted debates on Sept. 4 and Sept. 25 as well. He did not detail specific terms, such as whether there would be an audience, and it was not immediately clear whether his campaign had made a proposal to Harris' camp.

 

Trump had previously suggested he might back out of the ABC debate, which was scheduled before Harris, the U.S. vice president, replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate less than three weeks ago, upending the contest.

 

The news conference was Trump's first public appearance since Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday.

 

Her rapid rise has sent Trump's team scrambling to recalibrate their strategy and messaging. Opinion polls show Harris has erased the lead Trump had built over President Joe Biden, and Democrats have raked in hundreds of millions of dollars from voters and big donors in a matter of weeks.

 

Asked on Thursday how he has altered his approach to the new challenge from Harris, Trump insisted he has not done so.

 

In a question-and-answer session with reporters that stretched beyond an hour, Trump moved from topic to topic, claiming Harris and Walz were weak candidates who were already dropping in the polls.