- There's gonna be a TV duel between Trump and Harris.
The two U.S. presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, are set to face off in their first TV debate in September. The TV network ABC announced that the Republican and the Democrat have both agreed to a debate on September 10th (local time/September 11th CEST). This date was previously agreed upon by Trump and the Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden before Biden withdrew from the race and Harris stepped in.
However, Trump had proposed an alternative date with another network in the meantime. Now, the Republican announced at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida that he is willing to participate in a total of three debates against Harris. His team has scheduled dates with two other TV networks for September 4th (September 5th CEST) and September 25th (September 26th CEST).
Harris, on the campaign trail in the state of Michigan, told accompanying journalists that she is glad Trump has finally agreed to a debate on September 10th. She is open to discussing another debate, but did not elaborate further.
Not just a debate between Harris and Trump
Trump also mentioned that a debate between the two vice-presidential candidates, J.D. Vance and Tim Walz, is planned, but he did not mention a possible date.
In recent days, Trump and Harris have been engaged in a public spat over the date for a TV debate, accusing each other of dodging the debate out of fear of the other.
At his press conference in Mar-a-Lago, Trump once again attacked Harris, calling her incompetent and stupid, and saying, among other things, "She's not smart enough to give a press conference."
Trump assures peaceful transition of power
At the same time, he assured a peaceful transition of power at the press conference. "There will be a peaceful transition of power," he said. "There was one last time, and there will be one again. I just hope we have honest elections. That's all."
This is a reference to a warning from U.S. President Biden. He said he is "not at all confident" that there will be a peaceful transition of power if Trump loses the election, in response to a question in an interview with the U.S. network CBS News.
In March, the former president said at a campaign event: "If I'm not elected, there will be a bloodbath." In the interview, the U.S. President said of Trump's remarks: "He means what he says. We don't take him seriously. He means it."
The TV duel between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, initially scheduled for September 10th, has faced some controversy due to proposed alternative dates. However, Trump recently announced his willingness to participate in three debates, including one against Harris on September 10th.
In addition to the main debate, a TV duel between the vice-presidential candidates, J.D. Vance and Tim Walz, is also planned by Trump, although he has not revealed a possible date yet.
