Donald Trump's suggestion that Fox News should host the next presidential debate has thrown plans into chaos. The debate was originally scheduled for September 10, but with Joe Biden dropping out of the race and endorsing Kamala Harris, the plans are now up in the air.
Trump made the suggestion on Truth Social, saying, "My debate with Crooked Joe Biden, the Worst President in the history of the United States, was slated to be broadcast on Fake News ABC, the home of George Slopadopolus, sometime in September. Now that Joe has, not surprisingly, has quit the race, I think the Debate, with whomever the Radical Left Democrats choose, should be held on FoxNews, rather than very biased ABC. Thank you! DJT"
The Biden campaign had set criteria for debates in May, including that the host network should be one that sponsored debates in the 2016 and 2020 cycles. That eliminated Fox News and MSNBC.
The plans for a vice presidential debate also are scrambled. Harris had agreed to three dates next month to debate J.D. Vance, but the Trump campaign said that it would not until there was certainty on the Democratic side. Harris had agreed to host network CBS News' proposed dates of July 23 or August 12 or 13, but the Democratic Convention is not until August 19-22.
Michael Whatley, the chair of the Republican National Committee, said that Trump would accept a debate "anywhere, anytime, anyplace. What we want to do is talk directly to the American people and talk about President Biden's failures as a president, but those are now the Biden-Harris campaign failures."
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