Former President Donald Trump is trying to back out of the only scheduled debate between him and Vice President Kamala Harris, 78-year-old's campaign claiming it would be "inappropriate" for him to follow through on his prior commitment because Democrats have not yet formally nominated a candidate, HuffPost reported.
“Given the continued political chaos surrounding Crooked Joe Biden and the Democrat Party, general election debate details cannot be finalized until Democrats formally decide on their nominee,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement on Thursday. He cited the fact that former President Barack Obama had yet to endorse Harris as evidence Democrats "could still change their minds"; Obama and his wife, Michelle, endorsed Harris Friday morning, The Hill reported.
Trump and President Joe Biden had initially agreed to two debates, one on June 27 and one on September 10. The latter debate is set to be hosted by ABC and, under the terms Trump previously accepted, is open to any candidate eligible to be president and polling at or above 15% in four national polls.
Harris will secure her party's nomination in a virtual roll call early next month ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In a post on social media, she called out Trump for getting cold feet, asking: “What happened to ‘any time, any place?’”
In a separate post, she accused the former president of going back on his word. “Trump agreed on a September 10th debate," she wrote. "It now appears he's backpedaling. Voters deserve to see the split screen that exists on a debate stage. I'm ready. So let's go.”
Earlier this week, Trump suggested in a press conference with reporters that he didn’t want to participate in an event hosted by ABC, as agreed to, but would instead consider a debate on Fox News, The Hill reported.
