Trump and Harris Will Have At Least One Debate Next Month

Trump gave a press conference at Mar-a-Lago earlier today where he said he was looking forward to three debates with Kamala Harris on Sep. 4, Sep. 10 and Sep. 25. Trump added that the various networks had agreed though all of the details hadn’t been worked out yet. Before the press conference was even over, ABC News quickly announced that both candidates had agreed to the Sep. 10 date. That’s the same date Trump was originally scheduled to debate Biden for a second time but because his performance in the first debate was so shockingly bad, Biden dropped out.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump will face off in a televised prime-time matchup on Sept. 10, ABC News said on Thursday, setting up the latest crucial moment in an already unpredictable presidential campaign.

The 90-minute debate is expected to be held in Philadelphia, according to two people with knowledge of the plans. The ABC anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis will serve as moderators. The debate will probably be held without a live audience, but the exact format and ground rules are still being determined, the people said.

In one sense, the announcement maintains the status quo: Mr. Trump agreed months ago to debate President Biden on ABC on that same date. But the Republican nominee wavered on that commitment after Mr. Biden withdrew from the race, arguing that he had not agreed to those terms with Ms. Harris.

The other two dates have not been confirmed yet. The Sep. 4 debate, if it happens, would be hosted by Fox and the Sep. 25 debate would be hosted by NBC. Trump announced he would participate in the Fox debate nearly a week ago but at the time Harris flatly declined, seeming to rule out any debate prior to Sep. 10.

Kamala just responded to Trump’s invitation to debate him on Fox News — and it’s an unequivocal no. She also says Trump is running scared because he originally agreed to the ABC debate with whomever the democratic candidate is and now he’s backing out. She ended by claiming that she would be happy to entertain future debates, but only after the ABC showdown.

So, no surprise, Harris won’t debate on a network that doesn’t lean in her favor. I guess she could change her mind but I doubt that will happen based on what I’ve seen so far. Even her statement today seems to suggest there will be no Sep. 4 debate on Fox News:

Harris, who had previously agreed to the ABC debate, confirmed her participation later Thursday and said she would be “happy” to discuss a further debate.

“I’m glad that he’s finally agreed to a debate on September 10th. I’m looking forward to it, and I hope he shows up,” Harris told reporters before boarding Air Force Two in Detroit after an event with the United Auto Workers.

So she may be willing to do one additional debate but it won’t be on Fox News. 

The Harris campaign strategy thus far is a continuation of the Biden campaign strategy. They are still ducking any interviews with the national media and are relying on all of the free media they are getting because of the hype her entry into the race has produced. They will continue to ride this train of fluff pieces from friendly journalists as long as it lasts and probably a bit longer than that. 

The reason is obvious. Kamala is not a great candidate just as she was not a great VP. The longer they can delay the public realizing that and seeing her media honeymoon end, the better off they are.

In the long run, I don’t think she can keep up the facade, but you have to admit that Democrats will be coming off possibly the worst debate performance in US history, certainly in my lifetime. If Harris can manage to finish her own sentences without looking confused, she’ll look brilliant compared to Biden. Put another way, the bar for her performance could not be any lower than it is.

But we’ve seen a lot of Harris over the past 4 years and it’s amazing how much of it has been absolutely cringeworthy. It’s not as if she had one bad day after weeks of good ones. Nearly every effort at a public event seemed to result in embarrassment of some kind. And there has been plenty of reports about behind the scenes rage and the staff turnover to match. It’s not something that just cropped up when she became VP either. This account, written by a father whose son interned with Harris, is from 2019:

Senator Harris vocally throws around “F-bombs” and other profanity constantly in her berating of staff and others. The staff is in complete fear of her and she uses her profanity throughout the day.

As Attorney General, Senator Harris instructed her entire staff to stand every morning as she entered the office and say, “Good Morning General.”

Never once during the month-long internship did Harris introduce herself to our son (as he was only in an office with 20 paid employees) and staff was too intimidated by her to introduce him. The only acknowledgment was a form letter of “thanks” signed by Harris given to him on his last day of service.

Gregory was also given instructions to never address Harris nor look her in the eye as that privilege was only allowed to senior staff members.

That’s the real Kamala Harris, the one we’ve seen glimpses of all this time. The real Kamala Harris will return to American TV screens sooner or later. When she does, the honeymoon will be over no matter how much the media wishes it would go on forever.