Former President Donald Trump said Friday that he will no longer participate in the September debate on ABC, opting instead to accept Fox News’ offer to debate Vice President Kamala Harris on Sept. 4.
The former president said the ABC debate was agreed upon when President Joe Biden was the presumptive Democratic nominee, “but was shelved because Biden would no longer be a participant.”
Trump also referred to his words Active defamation suit against ABC and network anchor George Stephanopoulos, although the claim was already months in the making when Trump agreed to debate Biden on the network earlier this summer.
Fox News officially invited Trump and Harris to the debate on his network in September, days after Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris.
The network introduced two of its anchors, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, as moderators, which Trump agreed to in a Truth Social post.
In a tweet posted on Saturday, the vice president said: “It’s interesting how ‘any time, any place’ turns into ‘one particular time, one particular safe place.’ As he agreed, I will be there on September 10th.
His tweet referred to Trump’s refrain from discussing “anytime, anywhere” with Biden during the debate talks.
Trump added that the debate will take place in Pennsylvania, with a full arena audience.
A representative for Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the debate would have viewers.
The June debate between Trump and Biden was held at a CNN studio in Atlanta, and there was no audience.
Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler told NBC News: “Donald Trump is scared and trying to back out of a debate he already agreed to and is running straight to Fox News to save him. He should stop playing games and go to the debate he has already committed to on September 10.”
“The Vice President will be there one way or another, taking the opportunity to speak to a national audience,” he said. “We are happy to discuss the future discussions after the discussions that both campaigns have already agreed to. A gentleman should have no problem with that anytime, anywhere, anywhere, unless he’s too scared to show up on the 10th.”
A campaign official told NBC News that “we understand that ABC intends to provide airtime regardless of which candidate appears, even if it is himself.”
Trump’s Truth Social post came on the day Harris criticized Trump online during his campaign. taking out digital ads in local newspapers and the former president has been accused by allies of Trump of being afraid to discuss it because of his ties to Project 2025, the conservative action plan he wrote for the next Republican presidential administration.
The digital ads match the campaign’s messaging at a rally in Atlanta earlier this week.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who Harris spoke at the rallyHe said Trump was “too scared” to argue with the vice president.
In response, the thousands of people who attended said, “He is afraid. He is afraid. He is afraid.”
Harris himself took the stage that evening and addressed the former president, saying, “Donald, I hope you’ll consider meeting me on the debate stage. Because, as they say, if you have something to say.”
The rally crowd chanted to Harris, “Say that to my face!”
Trump’s post also came hours after Fox Business aired a pre-recorded interview with Trump, in which he told host Maria Bartiromo: “I mean, I’m saying now, why should I debate? I am the leader in the elections and everyone knows it. Everyone knows me.”