Trump Vs. Harris Presidential Debate Dilemma Solved? Media Outlet Pitches 'Alternative That Would Satisfy Both Candidates'

Plans for an upcoming presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have hit a roadblock ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Each candidate is currently ready to debate at rival events, with a media company proposing a solution to get both candidates together.

What Happened: The first 2024 presidential debate between Trump and President Joe Biden may have been one of the biggest turning points in the 2024 election, with Biden later dropping out of the race.

The debate was watched by 47.9 million people and set records for Warner Bros. Discovery WBD unit CNN, while also bringing in less viewers than the first presidential debates of 2016 and 2020.

Biden and Trump originally agreed on a second debate set for Sept. 10 on ABC News, a unit of The Walt Disney Company DIS. Fox Corporation FOXFOXA has also proposed hosting a debate on Sept. 17.

NewsNation, which is a unit of Nexstar Media Group NXST, has proposed a debate for Trump and Harris with letters sent to the two presidential candidates' teams.

"I'd like to offer an alternative that would satisfy both candidates – not to mention the American people – a fair, respectful and even-handed debate on NewsNation, co-sponsored by The Hill," Nexstar executive Sean Compton said in the letter, as reported by Variety.

Nexstar also owns The Hill, a political news media outlet.

"We of course are flexible on the timing, format and location of the debate, although we certainly expect it would be held in a battleground state such as Pennsylvania."

NewsNation, launched in 2001, is smaller than other media outlets that have hosted presidential debates. The outlet has attempted to be non-partisan and an alternative to media outlets that are often partisan.

"Unlike some media outlets, they are not identified as favoring either Democrats or Republicans. That's why NewsNation and The Hill are the perfect platform for an intelligent conversation about the crucial issues facing America as we head into the election."

Harris has said she will be appearing at the previously agreed upon Sept. 10 debate with ABC News. Trump is proposing a Fox News hosted debate on Sept. 4, calling the Sept. 10 debate cancelled since Biden dropped out and due to his ongoing litigation against the media network.

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Why It's Important: With Biden and Harris at a standstill over when, where and with which media platform a debate will be hosted, this could be a good opportunity for NewsNation to play the non-partisan card.  

Trump has argued that an ABC-hosted debate would not be impartial due to his ongoing litigation with the media network. The former president is also pushing to make sure there is a live studio audience for a debate with Harris, something that was not part of his first debate with Biden.

Harris has pushed back against Trump's claim that he is willing to debate "any time, any place" in her recent comments about the presidential debates.

"Donald, I do hope you'll reconsider meeting me on the debate stage," Harris recently said. "If you've got something to say, say it to my face."

NewsNation hosted the fourth Republican debate during the 2024 election, which was skipped by Trump. The debate had around 4.1 million viewers for NewsNation.

Unlike past debates that were not exclusive to one media network, media companies are now fighting to land the rights to be the home of debates.

CNN was the lucky winner of the rights to the first debate, but also allowed simulcasting of the event, which benefitted Fox, who had strong viewership.

With the 2024 election nearly three months away, voters may be excited about the notion of Trump and Harris facing off head-to-head in a debate for the first time.

With or without the debate, Nexstar is viewed as a potential winner among media stocks with increased spending during the 2024 election as the owner of America's largest local broadcasting network with 200 owned or partner stations in 116 U.S. markets.

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