Former President Trump in a new interview questioned why he should debate Vice President Harris amid pressure from her campaign to do so.
Trump told Fox Business Network host Maria Bartiromo that he wants to debate his likely Democratic opponent, but left the door open to opting out of it.
“Well, I want to. And we’re leading in the polls it seems by quite a bit still,” Trump said, pointing to the shakeup after President Biden withdrew from the race. “She’s better than he is, but I think ultimately she’ll be worse than him.”
Trump noted it was Biden’s team who pushed for a June debate, after which Democrats urged the president to step aside as the candidate.
“If I didn’t do the debate they’d say, ‘Oh Trump’s not doing the debate.’ It’s the same thing they’ll say now,” Trump said. “I mean right now I say, why should I do a debate? I’m leading in the polls. And, everybody knows her, everybody knows me.”
The comments from Trump, which were taped Thursday and broadcast Friday, are the latest instance of the former president hedging about a debate with Harris as she inches closer to securing the Democratic nomination.
He first told reporters last week that he would “absolutely” debate the vice president, followed by his campaign declining to commit to a debate until she is the official nominee. Trump then told Fox News he’d “probably” debate but could make the case not to.
The Trump and Biden campaigns had agreed to a Sept. 10 debate hosted by ABC News, but Trump has suggested the change in candidate atop the Democratic ticket has given him room to push for changes, potentially involving the host or format.
He has expressed particular frustration with ABC News and suggested the debate should instead be hosted by Fox News.
Harris rallied an energetic crowd in Atlanta on Tuesday night and called out Trump for “pulling out” of the debate.
“Well Donald, I do hope you’ll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage because as the saying goes, if you got something to say, say it to my face,” she said, looking directly at the camera.
