Trump says he’s willing to debate Harris, more than once
WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a Tuesday call with reporters committed to a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential candidate.
“I would be willing to do more than one debate,” Trump said.
Harris, who says she is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, won pledges from enough Democratic delegates by late Monday night to gain the nomination. President Joe Biden on Sunday dropped his reelection bid and endorsed Harris.
During the call, Trump also said that he’s not worried about campaigning against Harris because “she’s the same as Biden” in her policies.
Trump later in the call criticized Harris for the Biden administration’s immigration approach, a topic that he has made a core part of his platform in his third run for the White House.
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment on Trump’s remarks about debating.
Trump also said he is not sure he wants to take part in a debate hosted by ABC News that was scheduled for Sept. 10 with then-presumptive Democratic nominee Biden.
Biden’s shaky performance in a June 27 debate with Trump led to weeks of growing Democratic unease with his campaign, and members of both the U.S. House and Senate called for the president to drop his reelection bid.
Trump also noted that he hasn’t agreed to the ABC debate because he “agreed to a debate with Joe Biden,” and not Harris.
Harris held her first campaign rally Tuesday in Milwaukee, where she leaned into her prior work as a prosecutor and the attorney general for the state of California.
Ariana Figueroa covers the nation's capital for States Newsroom. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections and campaign finance.
Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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