Kamala Harris’s campaign called Donald Trump “scared” on Saturday after he suggested changing the presidential debate schedule. This comes ahead of a rally in Georgia where Trump will try to slow down Harris’s growing momentum in her bid to become America’s first woman president.
In a post on his Truth Social app, Trump said he was willing to debate Harris on the conservative Fox News network on September 4. However, he declined to participate in a previously scheduled debate on ABC.
Trump made this proposal before heading to a rally in Atlanta, where Harris had recently spoken to an excited crowd of about 10,000 people. Trump mentioned he had “agreed” to the debate plan with Fox, which would take place in Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state, in front of a live audience.
The Harris campaign dismissed this as “games.” Michael Tyler, Harris’s campaign communications director, said, “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. He needs to… show up to the debate he already committed to on Sept 10.”
Trump’s proposal to debate Harris on a network that has long supported him was his latest effort to regain control of a campaign that had been focused on a rematch against 81-year-old Joe Biden. However, Biden dramatically dropped his reelection bid on July 21.
Since then, Harris, 59, has quickly reenergized the Democratic base. She has raised donations, reunited the team behind Barack Obama’s two historic election victories, and closed the gap that 78-year-old Trump had built against Biden in opinion polls. On Friday, she secured the official Democratic nomination with almost unanimous party support.
Harris is expected to announce her vice-presidential pick soon, with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as a frontrunner. On Tuesday, she will start a nationwide tour with her running mate.
