Confusion over dates

First TV duel between Trump & Harris fixed

Presidential candidates Harris and Trump will meet on September 10.

(Bild: AP)

US Vice President Kamala Harris and her election opponent Donald Trump are set to face off in a televised duel on September 10. Shortly before the announcement, the Republican caused confusion during an appearance at his estate.

"Vice President Harris and former President Trump have both confirmed that they will be participating," the ABC channel announced on the online service X. At a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in the state of Florida shortly beforehand, Trump had proposed three televised duels with Harris next month - on September 4, 10 and 25.

However, he had named NBC and not ABC as the broadcaster for the debate on September 10. However, Trump's team subsequently noted that he had made a mistake and had spoken to ABC about the date on September 10.

Confirmation for further debates pending
Whether there will be just one debate between the two presidential candidates in September, as announced by ABC, or three, remained unclear at first. NBC and Fox News, the channel named by Trump for the proposed debate on September 4, did not initially make any announcements.

The announcement from ABC:

There had been an exchange of blows between Trump and the Harris team over the televised debates a few days ago. Before the withdrawal of incumbent Joe Biden from the presidential race, a second debate had already been scheduled for September 10 on ABC.

Frontal attack from Trump
However, Republican Trump initially refused to run against Harris as the new Democratic presidential candidate on this date and instead proposed a debate on September 4 on the right-wing channel Fox News, which is sympathetic to him. The Harris campaign then accused Trump of being "afraid" and wanting to "avoid" the debate. Trump obviously wanted to refute this accusation by proposing three debates.

Trump attacked Harris again during his not always stringent press conference. In Florida, he said that Harris "hasn't given a single interview - she can't give an interview, she's hardly competent". However, he said he was looking forward to the duels as things had to be put right.

Democrat barely answers questions
Harris said later on Thursday that she had spoken to her team. "I'd like us to schedule an interview before the end of the month." Harris has answered almost no questions from reporters since she entered the race for the White House. Even before his press conference, Trump had tried to make this a campaign issue.