In an astonishing turn of events, ABC News has reported that former President of the USA, Donald Trump, and Vice President Kamala Harris have agreed to participate in a presidential debate to be held on September 10, 2024.
This debate has set the stage for a highly anticipated showdown between the Republican and Democratic party nominees.
When did Trump announce the debate?
This announcement was released on Thursday. It is an important event and development in shaping one of the most important U.S. presidential elections in recent history.
This will be the first time that Trump and Harris will have a debate showdown and face each other directly after Harris became the Democratic nominee following the current President Joe Biden’s unexpected withdrawal from the election race.
Trump’s participation in the debate was announced when he was speaking at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
He said, “I think it’s very important to have debates. I look forward to the debates because I think we have to set the record straight”. He had also proposed 3 different debates with 3 different news channels earlier like, ABC News, Fox News, and NBC News.
The recent agreement to debate on ABC News is a noteworthy point because he recently criticized ABC News network.
A few days back, he posted on his social media that he would not be appearing on ABC News, stating a lawsuit he had filed against the news network.
But his decision to appear on the same news network for this historic debate shows how important these elections and campaigns are to him that even the high-profile candidates are up for anything.
Kamala Harris’s reply to the debate with Trump
For now, we have not seen any public announcement from Vice President Kamala Harris regarding the debate in September.
However, if we see her campaign agreement of 10 September then it shows that she might directly participate in the debate showdown against the Republican candidate.
It is also important to see that Kamala Harris has been criticized by the Republican party for not having any press conferences or interviews after the election withdrawal by Joe Biden.
Unexpected events in US election campaigns
The situations that led up to this debate have been quite surprising and they have shifted the entire election scene in the USA. The first debate of this election was held on 27 June 2024, which led to a huge change as President Joe Biden ended his bid for reelection and after a short time, he put Kamala Harris forward.
This unexpected decision turned the whole Democratic election ticket, with Harris quickly gaining support from key figures of the party including Former US President Barack Obama as well.
The upcoming debate in the next month might cover a range of important issues given the current geopolitical conditions and the challenges related to the global economy. With many inner conflicts among different countries, the candidates’s foreign policy would be a star point to be noted.
Both the parties have recently announced their running mates which has added another layer to the elections. Trump’s party has chosen Ohio Senator JD Vance as his Vice President nominee and Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Waz as her Vice President candidate.
Both of these choices show the strategic moves of each party and it could play an important role in shaping the debate as well.
The agreement to the debate also shows how both parties have chosen different approaches to engage with the media.
Kamala Harris travels with a press pool with her on Air Force Two for all her trips whereas Trump does not have a preset traveling press corps that regularly accompanies him on his campaigns.
This difference in approaching the media has been a point of contention between both campaigns.
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US election become a global affair
With elections coming closer, less than three months away, this debate on September 10 is going to be a global affair and a pivotal point in the US elections.
Voters could directly compare both candidates based on their thoughts related to the country’s future, global issues, policies, and much more through this debate.
Given the dramatic shift in the first debate of this election, expectations are set high for the upcoming one.
As September 10 approaches, the world’s attention would be on the Trump-Harris face-off promising to be a defining moment in this historic election.
