JUST IN: Trump Backs Out of ABC Debate With Harris While Agreeing ‘With Fox News’ to Debate Kamala Harris

AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Former President Donald Trump has reneged on his campaign’s prior agreement to an ABC News-hosted debate in a late-night social media post in which he also announced he has agreed “with FoxNews to debate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, September 4th.”

Trump posted his intentions late Friday night, just before midnight, and explained his changed mind, explaining that the previously scheduled debate was against President Joe Biden, which he claimed “has been terminated in that Biden will no longer be a participant.”

He also cited a lawsuit he has filed against the ABC Network and George Stephanopoulos, claiming that his reputation had been harmed by multiple on-air reports that Mr. Trump had been found liable for raping the writer E. Jean Carroll . Trump was found civilly liable for sexual assault, and Judge Lewis Kaplan said that what the jury found Trump did was, in fact, rape, as commonly understood.

Trump also suggested that Harris was somehow illegitimate as the Democratic nominee, falsely claiming that “the Democrats have Unconstitutionally taken a Candidate, who was acknowledged to be defeated, and unceremoniously replaced him with a new Candidate.” There is nothing in the US Constitution about the nomination process as it relates to Biden bowing out and his running mate taking his spot.

Trump posted on Truth Social:

I have agreed with FoxNews to debate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, September 4th. The Debate was previously scheduled against Sleepy Joe Biden on ABC, but has been terminated in that Biden will no longer be a participant, and I am in litigation against ABC Network and George Slopadopoulos, thereby creating a conflict of interest. The FoxNews Debate will be held in the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, at a site in an area to be determined. The Moderators of the Debate will be Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, and the Rules will be similar to the Rules of my Debate with Sleepy Joe, who has been treated horribly by his Party – BUT WITH A FULL ARENA AUDIENCE!….

He then followed up :

….As everyone knows, the Democrats have Unconstitutionally taken a Candidate, who was acknowledged to be defeated, and unceremoniously replaced him with a new Candidate. This has never been done before, and is a Threat to Democracy, but I am totally prepared to accept the results of this “coup,” and replace Joe on the Debate stage with Crazy Kamala Harris. I spent Hundreds of Millions of Dollars, Time, and Effort fighting Joe, and when I won the Debate, they threw a new Candidate into the ring. Not fair, but it is what it is! Nevertheless, different Candidate or not, their bad Policies are the same, and this will be strongly revealed at the September 4th Debate. I look forward to meeting and debating Kamala Harris on September 4th. This date is convenient and appropriate in that it is just prior to the September 6th start of Early Voting in the 2024 Presidential Election. I look forward to seeing everyone on September 4th, in the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania!

Trump had previously agreed to debate Biden any place and any time, to which the Biden campaign appeared to take advantage by setting specific terms that appealed to them. The first debate went so poorly for President Biden, however, that it ultimately led to his bowing out amid intense pressure from Democratic leaders and poor polling.

Fox News made waves on July 24th by offering to host a debate on Sept 17, to be hosted by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. Fox responded to Mediaite’s inquiries for more details, and they provided the invitation from President and Executive Editor of Fox News Media Jay Wallace and Jessica Loker , Vice President of Politics at Fox to both campaigns, which read , in part:

Now that Vice President Kamala Harris is the presumptive Democratic nominee, FOX News Media is amending our proposal for a debate this cycle. Given the race has changed, we’d like to request the opportunity to host a Presidential Debate between former President Trump and VP Harris.

We propose to host the debate in the state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, September 17, just as early voting is getting underway there and in other key battlegrounds. We are open to discussion on the exact date, format and location – with or without an audience.

Again, we believe Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum , the faces of our political coverage, are the best choices to moderate.

Trump has been very critical of Fox News coverage in the past few months but consistently appears on its networks for interviews with partisan supporters like Sean Hannity , Laura Ingraham , and Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, none of whom ever ask the former president any challenging questions.

Fox News was not included in the previously agreed debates because they had not hosted a Democratic primary debate in 2020, which was part of the specific qualifications (along with hosting a Republican primary debate in 2016) that kept them and MSNBC from being considered according the stipulations agreed to by both the Biden and Trump campaigns.