Trump Announces September 10 Debate with Harris

Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he had "reached an agreement" for a televised debate with Kamala Harris on September 10, just two days after threatening to withdraw. However, there has been no confirmation from Vice President Harris or her campaign that a deal is finalized.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed that both sides had agreed to the debate, which would air on ABC under the same rules as CNN's June 27 debate—no studio audience, and each candidate's microphone muted when the other is speaking. Trump described ABC as "by far the nastiest and most unfair newscaster in the business" but said he had received assurances that the debate in Philadelphia would be "fair and equitable."

The Harris campaign, which has advocated for a format with unmuted mics throughout, accused Trump of shifting the terms and remained noncommittal about accepting the deal.

"Both candidates have publicly stated their willingness to debate with unmuted mics to allow for substantive exchanges, but it seems Donald Trump is letting his handlers overrule him. Sad!" the Harris campaign said in a statement.

Trump had previously hesitated to participate in the debate, following Harris's rapid rise as the Democratic White House nominee after President Joe Biden stepped aside due to his poor performance in the CNN debate. Trump accused ABC of bias on Sunday, questioning why he would agree to debate on the network.

Trump's campaign insists that the debate should follow the terms originally agreed upon with Biden before his exit. However, Trump himself has been indifferent about the microphone issue, saying, "It doesn't matter to me. I'd probably prefer them on."

Harris's team contends that the Trump campaign wants muted mics to help the Republican maintain discipline when not speaking, alleging, "They don't think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes."

Trump also noted in his latest post that Harris had declined a September 4 debate on Fox News but promised to keep the date open in case she "changes her mind."