Former President Donald Trump raised multiple questions about the upcoming debate he has scheduled against Vice President Kamala Harris on September 10, suggesting it wouldn’t make sense to participate in a debate run by “ABC FAKE NEWS.”
Trump and Harris agreed to the ABC News debate, but the Republican nominee has also pushed for two other debates in September — one on Fox News on September 4 and another on NBC on September 25. Harris has only agreed to the ABC News debate and a second debate in October.
The ABC debate is set to be moderated by anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis, neither of whom have moderated a general election debate. Last week, Davis connected Trump’s appearance in Howell, Michigan, to the Ku Klux Klan, saying, “Many people are aware that a month ago, in Howell, KKK protesters marched in the streets with the white robes on and suggested that they support Donald Trump.”
Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday night to complain about ABC’s coverage, writing, “I watched ABC FAKE NEWS this morning, both lightweight reporter Jonathan Carl’s(K?) ridiculous and biased interview of Tom Cotton (who was fantastic!), and their so-called Panel of Trump Haters, and I ask, why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network? Will panelist Donna Brazil (sic) give the questions to the Marxist Candidate like she did for Crooked Hillary Clinton? Will Kamala’s best friend, who heads up ABC, do likewise. Where is Liddle’ George Slopadopolus hanging out now? Will he be involved[?] They’ve got a lot of questions to answer!!! Why did Harris turn down Fox, NBC, CBS, and even CNN? Stay tuned!!!”
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Trump’s reference to Harris’ “best friend” is based on the Democratic nominee’s long close relationship with a Disney executive who previously oversaw ABC News. Dana Walden is currently Disney’s highest-ranking television executive, The New York Times reported. ABC, which Disney owns, told the Times that Walden does not weigh in on editorial decisions at the network.
In July, Trump called out another ABC News host, Rachel Scott, for asking him a “very nasty question” to begin a discussion at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Conference in Chicago. Scott started the interview by asking Trump to address the controversy around his invite to the NABJ Conference and pushed him to explain negative comments he has directed at black Democrats over the years.
“First of all, I don’t think I’ve been asked a question in such a horrible manner, first question. You don’t even say ‘Hello, how are you,” Trump replied. “Are you with ABC? Because I think they are a fake news network, a terrible network.”
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Before officially agreeing to debate Harris, Trump said he could “make a case for not doing it.” He then announced during a press conference on August 8 that he agreed to three debates against Harris.
“She hasn’t done an interview. She can’t do an interview. She’s barely competent,” Trump said at the time. “She can’t do an interview, but I look forward to the debates because we have to set the record straight.”
