US vice-president rejects Trump’s proposal for September 4 debate

US Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump engaged in a heated exchange of insults on August 3 regarding their ongoing dispute over the timing and location of their debate.

The former president has rejected the previously scheduled debate set for September 10 by ABC News, instead pressuring Harris—seen as the de facto Democratic nominee—to agree to an earlier debate on the Trump-friendly Fox News network, Caliber.Az reports citing the foreign media.

On August 2, Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he had agreed to a debate with Kamala Harris on September 4, to be hosted by Fox News with its moderators and a full audience.

In response, the Harris campaign mocked Trump on August 3 for retracting his commitment to the ABC News debate. “Donald Trump is running scared, trying to back out of the debate he previously agreed to and seeking refuge with Fox News to save him,” said Michael Tyler, a spokesman for the Harris campaign.

Trump cited ongoing litigation with ABC News as a "conflict of interest" for not participating in the previously scheduled debate. Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“He needs to stop playing games and show up for the debate he already committed to on September 10. The Vice President will be there, one way or the other, to address a prime-time national audience,” said Michael Tyler, a spokesman for the Harris campaign.

In May, President Joe Biden and Trump agreed to two debates: one hosted by CNN on June 27 and another by ABC News on September 10. Although Biden has since exited the race following a poor debate performance in June, the Harris campaign insists that the terms of the May agreement still apply.

The Harris campaign has affirmed that the vice president will attend the September 10 debate regardless of Trump’s participation. “It’s curious how ‘any time, any place’ has turned into ‘one specific time, one specific safe space,’” Harris tweeted on August 3, reinforcing her stance. “I’ll be there on September 10th as agreed. I hope to see him there as well.”