Skip to content
Search
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

What We're Watching

Trump now wants to debate

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally held with Republican vice presidential nominee Senator JD Vance, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., August 3, 2024.

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally held with Republican vice presidential nominee Senator JD Vance, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., August 3, 2024.

REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Willis Sparks
By Willis SparksAugust 08, 2024
Willis Sparks
Willis Sparks is a senior editor for GZERO Daily. He is also a Director in the Global Macro practice at Eurasia Group, where he has worked since 2005. He has made speeches on international politics on every continent except Antarctica. Willis holds degrees from Brown University, the Juilliard School, Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris. He also holds an honorary degree from the Moscow Art Theatre School. A native of Macon, Georgia, Willis has worked as a stuntman at New York's Metropolitan Opera. As a child, he declined an opportunity to spend an afternoon riding the Great American Scream Machine, a rollercoaster, with Ronald McDonald, for money. He has never regretted that decision.
See Full Bio

Just as the US presidential race has shifted from a Donald Trump advantage over Joe Biden to a toss-up against Kamala Harris, the former president’s debate strategy has also shifted.

Trump was eager to debate Biden on any TV network with any ground rules — for reasons that became clear when the president delivered the June 27 debate performance that ultimately ended his campaign. When Harris became his new opponent, Trump felt he was winning and had no incentive to debate. Harris insisted that Trump honor the commitment he made (to Biden) to appear at a Sept. 10 debate to be aired by ABC and threatened to show up and use the time to make a live televised speech if the GOP nominee was a no-show. Trump refused and then challenged her to debate him on Fox News before a live audience instead.

Now that the Harris campaign is surging in both national and swing-state polls, it appears Trump’s calculus has changed again.

“We’ll be debating her, I guess, in the pretty near future,” he told Fox News on Wednesday. “It’s going to be announced fairly soon, but we’ll be debating her.” The next day he told reporters that he agreed to debate Harris on Fox on Sept. 4, ABC on Sept. 10, and NBC on Sept 25. ABC has confirmed that both candidates have agreed to attend, and Harris has said she’s “looking forward” to Sept. 10. Her campaign hasn’t yet commented on the other proposed events.

donald trump

Latest Videos

Geoffrey Hinton on how humanity can survive AIplay icon
GZERO World Clips

Geoffrey Hinton on how humanity can survive AI

Notre Dame, politics, and playing by their own rules
ask ian

Notre Dame, politics, and playing by their own rules

Trump’s new national security strategy targets Europe
Quick Take

Trump’s new national security strategy targets Europe

'Godfather of AI' warns of existential risks
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

'Godfather of AI' warns of existential risks

Will AI replace human workers?
Ian Explains

Will AI replace human workers?

Trump, Russia, and a deal Ukraine can’t accept
Quick Take

Trump, Russia, and a deal Ukraine can’t accept

More For You

What We’re Watching: Zelensky willing to compromise, Bulgaria’s government falls, US seizes Venezuelan oil tanker

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, December 8, 2025.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, December 8, 2025.

REUTERS/Toby Melville/Pool
Zelensky’s counteroffer shows his willingness for compromiseUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a counter to the US’s original plan for ending the Russia-Ukraine war on Wednesday, one that includes several concessions. Among them are allowing the US to recognize Russian-occupied territory, and granting the US and Russia control over the [...]

What We’re Watching: “Czech Trump” back in power, Rwanda-DRC peace deal seemingly in ruins, The US has a new type(face)

ANO party leader Andrej Babis signs a document on the day he is appointed as the country's new prime minister in Prague, Czech Republic, on December 9, 2025.

Czech President Petr Pavel looks on as the ANO party leader Andrej Babis signs a document on the day he is appointed as the country's new prime minister at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, on December 9, 2025.

REUTERS/Eva Korinkova
Babiš returns to power in CzechiaThe billionaire is back. Populist tycoon Andrej Babiš officially returns to the premiership of Czechia after decisively winning the election earlier this year. Babiš, a staunch Eurosceptic who last held power from 2017 to 2021, has formed a cabinet with the ultranationalist SPD party and the Motorists movement, [...]

What We’re Watching: Balloon emergency in Eastern Europe, China neglects Trump’s chip offer, Aussie kids banned from socials

Vilnius International airport, forced to shut down due to the presence of air balloons, on October 25, 2025.

Vilnius International airport, forced to shut down due to the presence of air balloons, on October 25, 2025.

Scanpix Baltics via Reuters Connect
Balloon crisis in the Baltic skiesLook there, in the skies over Lithuania! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… a balloon from Belarus carrying contraband cigarettes? This story is more than just hot air, as hundreds of the deviant dirigibles have wafted across the border in recent weeks, forcing the closure of Lithuania’s main airport and flight [...]

What We’re Watching: Thai-Cambodian ceasefire on verge of collapse, Trump makes “Monroe Doctrine” official, Benin foils coup attempt

An injured soldier is transferred to a hospital following a clash between Thai and Cambodian troops over a disputed border area in Sisaket Province,Thailand, December 7, 2025.

An injured soldier is transferred to a hospital following a clash between Thai and Cambodian troops over a disputed border area in Sisaket Province,Thailand, December 7, 2025.

Royal Thai Army/Handout via REUTERS
Fighting flares on the Thai-Cambodia borderThailand and Cambodia’s ceasefire is on the verge of collapse. Strikes were launched across their disputed border today, following clashes over the weekend that resulted in the death of a Thai soldier. Both sides accused the other of firing first. Thailand and Cambodia have been fighting along their [...]