NewsPolitics

Actions

Will Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have a debate?

President Biden and former President Trump had previously agreed to a Sept. 10 debate to be hosted by ABC News.
This combination photo shows Vice President Kamala Harris, left, at the White House and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at an event
Posted

The biggest question in American politics right now is who Vice President Harris will select as her running mate. However, the second-biggest question may just be whether a Harris-Trump debate will take place.

Some states begin early voting next month, and the debate question remains unanswered.

June's presidential debate proved to be one of the most consequential debates in history, prompting questions about President Biden's candidacy — questions that ultimately resulted in a change at the top of the ticket.

So will there be another presidential debate?

Initially, President Biden and former President Trump agreed to a Sept. 10 debate to be hosted by ABC News.

But once President Biden left the race and Vice President Harris became the face of the Democratic ticket, Trump's firm commitment became more uncertain.

RELATED STORY | Delegates to begin voting as Harris prepares to accept Democratic nomination

On the campaign trail in recent days, Harris has attacked Trump for not firmly committing yet.

On Fox News, Trump seemed to indicate some willingness to participate but also left the door open to not participating.

This year's fall presidential debate calendar is more uncertain than previous years because the nonpartisan presidential debate commission is no longer organizing and hosting following opposition from the campaigns. Instead, individual television networks are pitching debates directly to the campaigns.

Susan McManus is a Scripps News political analyst, and suspects there will be at least one debate, but cautions Trump must feel that the event is at least fair to him.

RELATED STORY | About 8 in 10 Democrats are satisfied with Harris in stark shift after Biden drops out: AP-NORC poll

Presidential debates, of course, aren't required.

After John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon debated in 1960, it was 16 years before another presidential debate occurred.

McManus said she suspects the Trump campaign is using these first few weeks of the Harris campaign to learn what kind of a presidential candidate she is, before they commit.