Vice President Kamala Harris received a bump up from the Democratic National Convention held last week and the spotlight now shifts to the debate between her and Republican candidate Donald Trump, scheduled for Sept. 10. Even as political analysts and members from either side of the aisle drum it up as a critical event, a social-media post by Trump has poured cold water on the expectations.
What Happened: In a Truth Social post, Trump questioned why he would do a debate with Harris on ABC Network, which is owned by Walt Disney Company. His lack of conviction has to do with his perception that the network was biased.
“I watched ABC FAKE NEWS this morning, both lightweight reporter Jonathan Carl's(K?) ridiculous and biased interview of Tom Cotton (who was fantastic!), and their so-called Panel of Trump Haters, and I ask, why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” he said in the post.
Trump also raised the possibility of Donna Brazile, a panelist, giving the questions to the “Marxist Candidate,” apparently referring to Harris, and added that Brazile, who is currently a contributor to ABC Network, did the same for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
“Will Kamala's best friend, who heads up ABC, do likewise. Where is Liddle' George Slopadopolus hanging out now? Will he be involved,” Trump said in the post. “Liddle' George Slopadopolus” is the nickname by which the former president refers to ABC News host George Stephanopoulos.
“They've got a lot of questions to answer!!! Why did Harris turn down Fox, NBC, CBS, and even CNN? Stay tuned!!!” he asked.
Why It’s Important: The one and only presidential debate between Trump and the then Democratic candidate Joe Biden, was hosted as a live event by CNN from Atlanta on June 27. The debate was moderated by the outlet’s journalists Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. Although both candidates failed to impress the voters, Biden put on a relatively poorer show due to the lack of coherence in his speech.
His poor debate performance and the subsequent drop in his poll ratings led to his eventual exit from the race.
CNN, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., is estimated to have raked in tens of billions of dollars in ad revenue and increased viewership from the televised debate.
Biden is now replaced by Harris and ever since she jumped into the fray, the fortunes have reversed. Harris is now leading in most national and swing-state polls.
Data compiled by polling analytics website FiveThirtyEight based on several nationwide polls showed that Harris was ahead of Trump by a 47.2%-43.7% margin.
An August Gallup poll found a big jump in Harris’ favorability rating, and the firm said the Sept. 10 debate will be important in determining whether opinions of her improve, stay the same or worsen in the final months of the presidential campaign.
Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Director under Trump, said in a recent episode of his podcast that he was impressed with Harris’ acceptance speech at the DNC but cautioned that she has yet to speak to the press and clarify her stance on issues such as fracking and the unrealized capital gains tax that she has proposed.
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