Trump says ABC debate is on with same rules as face-off with Biden

The confirmation follows a week of uncertainty, during which the Harris campaign squabbled over the debate’s agreed-upon rules.

By Matthew Xiao, The Washington Free Beacon

Republican nominee Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday afternoon that he will debate Vice President Kamala Harris on ABC News, September 10, noting that the event will follow the same rules as his face-off earlier this summer with President Joe Biden.

“I have reached an agreement with the Radical Left Democrats for a Debate with Comrade Kamala Harris,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“The Rules will be the same as the last CNN Debate, which seemed to work out well for everyone except, perhaps, Crooked Joe Biden. The Debate will be ‘stand up,’ and Candidates cannot bring notes, or ‘cheat sheets.’”

The confirmation follows a week of uncertainty, during which the Harris campaign squabbled over the debate’s agreed-upon rules, requesting microphones be turned on at all times and demanding “a seated debate, with notes, and opening statements.”

Trump, meanwhile, raised concerns over ABC News’s impartiality and on Monday hinted at pulling out in favor of another network after watching the network’s hostile interview a day earlier with Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.).

The former president, in his Tuesday post, said he has been “given assurance by ABC that this will be a ‘fair and equitable’ Debate, and that neither side will be given the questions in advance.”

Harris has so far avoided unscripted events and has yet to schedule any interviews or press conferences to answer voters’ questions about her elusive policy platform since she emerged as her party’s presumptive nominee over a month ago.

Harris told reporters on August 8 that she wanted “to get an interview scheduled before the end of the month.”

“Harris would not agree to the Fox News Debate on September 4th,” Trump wrote on Tuesday, “but that date will be held open in case she changes her mind or, Flip Flops, as she has done on every single one of her long held and cherished policy beliefs.”