“Why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” Trump asked in a Truth Social post. He criticized Jonathan Karl’s interview with Tom Cotton on ABC’s “This Week,” as well as the show’s panel of commentators.
ABC News is set to host the debate on Sept. 10. It is the only showdown both nominees have agreed to ahead of Election Day in November. The agreement came after significant back-and-forth, with Trump calling for a debate on Sept. 4 hosted by Fox News that the vice president’s campaign hasn’t accepted.
Trump focused some of his criticism on Donna Brazile, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, who came under fire in 2016 after Wikileaks released emails showing she sent town hall topics to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The former president also alleged that Harris’ close friend “heads up” ABC in an apparent reference to Dana Walden.
Walden, a Disney executive, has long been friends with Harris. But ABC News has said Walden is only involved in the outlet’s corporate and financial sectors.
Trump campaign senior aide Jason Miller said in a statement on Monday said the Democratic and Republican camps have continued to disagree on rules surrounding the debate, including over seating for the debate, notes and other factors.
On the other side of the aisle, the Harris campaign denied Miller’s claim. Brian Fallon, Harris campaign’s senior adviser for communications, said in a statement that it believes “both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the full broadcast,” criticizing Trump’s history of interrupting his debate opponent.
Are there other debates besides the one scheduled for Sept. 10?
Harris’ team has agreed to a second debate , but it’s not clear when or where that would happen. The Harris-Walz campaign in a statement earlier this month said “the debate about debates is over. Donald Trump’s campaign accepted our proposal for three debates – two presidential and a vice presidential debate.”
“Assuming Donald Trump actually shows up on September 10 to debate Vice President Harris, then Governor Walz will see JD Vance on October 1 and the American people will have another opportunity to see the vice president and Donald Trump on the debate stage in October,” the campaign said.
Trump and Harris’ running mates – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, respectively – have both agreed to an Oct. 1 debate hosted by CBS News.
USA TODAY has reached out to ABC News for comment.
