Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has initially rejected a debate with US Vice President Kamala Harris. It would be inappropriate to agree to anything until the 59-year-old has been officially named the Democratic presidential candidate, Trump’s campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said on Thursday (local time). He justified the decision by saying that the Democrats could still change their minds.
“Whatever happened to ‘anytime, anywhere’?” Harris wrote on the online service X, formerly Twitter. She had previously declared, in view of a possible duel on September 10, that “I am ready.” Trump had agreed to a debate on September 10. “Now he seems to be backing out.”
A televised debate between Trump and US President Joe Biden was planned for September 10, but Biden announced in written statements on Sunday that he would not run for president after weeks of heated debate about his mental fitness. He advocated Harris as his successor, who is currently the only candidate for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.
Trump said on Tuesday during a telephone interview with journalists that he was ready for a TV debate with Harris – even for “more than a debate.”
