Donald Trump on Thursday proposed holding three debates with Kamala Harris this fall, all of which would take place in September.
The campaign suggested that Fox News host one on September 4; ABC would host one on September 10 and NBC on September 25.
“We have those three dates and those networks. They’re anxiously awaiting that date and those dates,” Trump said at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago.
The ABC debate was already on the agenda — originally scheduled for Trump and President Joe Biden. Now it will be between Trump and Harris.
The former president had a long, rambling conversation with reporters at his Palm Beach home, repeatedly criticizing Harris, expressing sympathy for Joe Biden and claiming he was ahead in the polls.
Donald Trump proposed three debates with Kamala Harris
Trump did not say whether his team had contacted Harris’ team with their debate proposal. The former president acknowledged that she has yet to sign off on it.
‘“I don’t know if they’ll agree,” he said. “She hasn’t given an interview yet.”
Trump and his team have criticized Harris for not giving a media interview since President Joe Biden withdrew from the race and she became the Democratic presidential nominee.
“I look forward to the debates because I think we need to set the record straight,” he said.
He also said Harris “isn’t smart enough to do a press conference.”
“And I think that’s a shame, but we need smart people to lead this country.”
Trump had canceled the Sept. 10 debate with ABC News because he was originally scheduled to debate Biden. Harris had agreed to do so if she replaced Biden.
Trump is also suing ABC and anchor George Stephanopoulos for defamation, calling the ongoing lawsuit a “conflict of interest.”
But now the former president has agreed to meet on the debate stage. It comes as Harris holds a significant lead in the polls. She led Trump in a new national poll released Thursday and is running neck and neck with him in several swing states.
ABC News confirmed that the Sept. 10 debate with Harris and Trump will go ahead. It is unclear whether the other two debates will go ahead.
A well-informed source familiar with the negotiations says the ABC debate is expected to take place in Philadelphia.
The negotiations were led by Rick Klein, Washington bureau chief, and John Santucci, the network’s chief producer.
Meanwhile, Trump spent much of his press conference attacking Harris, his Democratic rival.
He called her the “first loser” and repeatedly said she had received “no votes.”
He appears to be referring to the 2020 Democratic primaries. Harris, then a presidential contender, dropped out of the race before the first nomination battle, which were the Iowa caucuses at the time. Her campaign was plagued by infighting and mismanagement.
“She was the first loser,” he said. “She was the first to give up, and she gave up. She had no votes, no support, and she was a bad debater, by the way, a very bad debater.”
Donald Trump gave Kamala Harris a new nickname: ‘first loser’
Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Mar-a-Lago
He also called her “the worst vice president in the history of our country – the most unpopular vice president” and indicated that she was chosen as the party’s candidate for “‘to be politically correct.’
In an interview with black journalists last week, Trump questioned whether Harris, who has a black father and a South Asian mother, was even black.
“She was always Indian, and she was just promoting Indian. I didn’t know she was black until a few years ago, when she happened to become black, and now she wants to be known as black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she black?” he said at the event.
Trump had made gains among black voters when Biden was on the ballot. Harris is taking back the votes, and the former president tried to ignore that.
“I seem to do very well with black men. That’s according to the polls, as you know. I may not do as well with black women, but I seem to do very well with other segments — extremely well with Hispanics,” he said.
He also defended Biden, his former rival, saying he was confident the president was not happy with his decision to withdraw from the race.
“I don’t know if he’s happy with that decision,” he said. “The presidency was taken away from Joe Biden. And I’m not a Biden fan. But I’ll tell you what, from a constitutional standpoint, from any standpoint you look at it, they took away the presidency.”
“He’s a very angry man now. I can tell you that.”
But he also had to endure some insults.
“I’m not a big fan of his brain,” Trump said of Biden. “But I actually don’t think she’s as smart as he is.”
