Trump agrees to debate Harris — on his own terms

Former President Donald Trump has agreed to debate Vice President Kamala Harris, but the faceoff isn’t set in stone.

The GOP nominee said on Friday evening he would meet Harris in Pennsylvania next month for a debate hosted by Fox News. Trump also announced he had negotiated debate terms that would include an audience, which was not part of the first presidential debate between the Republican leader and President Joe Biden. 

“I have agreed with FoxNews to debate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, September 4th,” Trump said in a late-night post to Truth Social.

“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,” he said. “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!….” 

Trump said he had agreed to the debate, but it’s not clear whether Fox News has agreed to the former president’s terms. And Harris has not responded to the statement, though she has said she wants to participate in a debate with her opponent.

While Trump has consistently expressed a desire to do a head-to-head matchup with his Democratic opponent, the MAGA leader attracted widespread speculation he would refuse to do so after declining to commit to a debate for more than a week. 

After Trump told Fox News earlier this week he “could make a case” for not debating Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee ridiculed him for “pulling out of the debate,” and made it a talking point for her campaign.

Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee announced plans to launch an entire advertising campaign built around the debacle. Charges that the GOP leader backed out of the debate because he “knows the only way he can win is if he hides his dangerous Project 2025 agenda,” were set to follow Trump across state lines as he campaigned. 

Trump has repeatedly disavowed Project 2025, which the Heritage Foundation created as the political infrastructure to wield a Republican agenda given a Republican win this November.