Vice President Kamala Harris Plans to Attend ABC Debate Even If Trump Doesn’t Show

Vice President Kamala Harris intends to honor the previously agreed-upon debate on September 10 on ABC, regardless of whether former President Donald Trump participates. According to a source familiar with the matter, ABC News is expected to provide airtime to whichever candidate shows up, even if it is only Harris. ABC News has not commented on the situation.

Trump recently announced his decision to participate in a Fox News debate on September 4 instead and withdrew from the ABC debate, initially agreed upon when President Joe Biden was the Democratic nominee.

Michael Tyler, Harris’ campaign communications director, criticized Trump’s decision, stating, “Donald Trump is running scared and trying to back out of the debate he already agreed to, running straight to Fox News to bail him out.” Tyler emphasized that Harris will attend the debate as planned, saying, “The vice president will be there one way or the other to speak to a prime time national audience.”

Tyler also expressed openness to discussing additional debates, challenging Trump to follow through on his previous commitments. “Mr. Anytime, anywhere, anyplace should have no problem with that unless he’s too scared to show up on the 10th,” Tyler added.

Harris’ team remains steadfast in their commitment to engaging with the American public through the scheduled debate, underscoring the importance of the event in the upcoming election cycle.

It’s interesting how “any time, any place” becomes “one specific time, one specific safe space.”

I’ll be there on September 10th, like he agreed to. I hope to see him there. https://t.co/zqng89X8QD

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 3, 2024