Harris says she’s ready to debate Trump, accuses him of ‘backing off’ from 9/10 clash

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters Thursday that she is “ready to debate Donald Trump.”

She accused him of “backtracking” on an earlier agreement to host an ABC News-hosted debate on September 10.

“I think voters deserve to see the split screen that exists in this race on the debate stage,” she said after landing at Joint Base Andrews after traveling to Indiana and Texas.

The Sept. 10 debate was one of two debates President Joe Biden and Trump have agreed to. The first was hosted by CNN on June 27, but Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris as his successor.

Trump said he would like the debate be moved to Fox News but is willing to face Harris greater than once.

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Harris didn’t respond to a matter about Fox News hosting the debate.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a press release Thursday that debate arrangements “cannot be finalized until Democrats formally make a decision on their nominee.”

“Democrats can still change their minds,” Cheung said.

Alex Conant, a Republican consultant, said the debate might be “decisive.” “It’s the one time when voters really get involved,” he said.

This 12 months’s campaign has already shown the potential power of debate. Biden’s disastrous performance on June 27 revived fears that he was too old for a second term. His support throughout the Democratic primary collapsed, and he ended his reelection bid on Sunday.