The Kamala Harris campaign and its surrogates have drawn media attention in recent days by calling Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running-mate JD Vance “weird.” They’ve now begun to call Trump a chicken.
Weeks ago, Trump and President Joe Biden agreed to two debates, one hosted by CNN on June 27 and a second, hosted by ABC News, on Sept. 10. Now that Biden has withdrawn from the race, Harris, aware that Trump remains a slight favorite in November, wants that second debate.
On July 23, Trump said he would “absolutely” debate Harris, but a few days later, a Trump campaign spokesman said Trump wouldn’t agree to debate Harris “until Democrats formally decide on their nominee.” The Harris campaign countered that Trump agreed to debate Biden before his nomination became official.
On Monday, Trump told a reporter he would “probably end up debating Harris,” but that he had good reason not to agree. He pointed to his still-strong poll numbers and his opinion that ABC News was biased against him.
The Harris campaign quickly responded that Kamala Harris will be there on Sept. 10 whether Trump shows up or stays away. “We’ll see if Trump shows,” read a campaign statement.
Harris has promised to announce her VP pick on Monday, and sometime over the next week, delegates will formally nominate her as the Democratic Party’s nominee for president. And then the Harris-Trump game of chicken over debates will only become more intense.