Trump Agrees to Sept. 10 Showdown with Harris, Teases Two More Debates

WASHINGTON — In a surprising turn of events, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump announced Thursday his agreement to debate Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on September 10, reversing his earlier stance on not participating in the ABC News event.

The announcement was made at a press conference held at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump also confirmed commitments to debates on September 4 and September 25, with the first hosted by Fox News.

Initially, Trump incorrectly stated that the September 10 debate would be on NBC. His campaign later clarified that the ABC News debate would take place on September 10, a date previously agreed upon with President Joe Biden before he exited the race. NBC will host the final debate.

ABC News confirmed the agreement from both the Trump and Harris campaigns. “I think it’s very important to have debates,” Trump remarked before quickly criticizing Harris.

The Harris campaign, Fox News, and NBC have not yet responded to requests for comment. Harris’s campaign issued a press release labeling Trump’s press conference as a “public meltdown” but did not specify her participation in the Fox News or NBC debates.

Biden was initially the presumptive Democratic nominee but withdrew following a poor performance at the first 2024 general election debate on June 27. Harris then secured the nomination and started her campaign tour with running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

During the press conference, a reporter inquired about the potential for a peaceful transfer of power if Trump lost the election. Trump assured, “Of course, there’ll be a peaceful transfer and there was last time and there’ll be a peaceful transfer. I just hope we’re going to have honest elections.”

The 2021 transition from Trump to Biden was notably tumultuous, marked by the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump supporters trying to halt Congress’s certification of the 2020 election. This led to Trump’s second impeachment for inciting the insurrection.

Trump persisted in claiming unfair treatment of the hundreds charged for their roles in the January 6 attack. “Nobody was killed on January 6,” Trump falsely asserted, emphasizing his belief in the unfair treatment of those involved.

In reality, two U.S. Capitol police officers, Jeffrey Smith and Howard Liebengood, died by suicide, classified as line-of-duty deaths following the events. Additionally, Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot by a Capitol police officer while attempting to breach a secured area near the U.S. House floor.