(New York) Donald Trump appeared to backtrack on his earlier commitment to debate Vice President Kamala Harris, questioning the utility of a meeting and saying he would “probably” debate but could also “make a case not to.”
Mr. Trump, in an interview with Fox News Channel that aired Monday night, was repeatedly pressed to commit to debating Mr.me Harris before giving a less assertive response than the one he had given in recent days.
The former Republican president was eager to debate President Joe Biden when he was the Democratic nominee, after suggesting for months that Mr. Biden was not in good enough mental shape for the face-off — or the presidency. But after Mr. Biden dropped out of the race and Mr.me Harris became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Mr Trump questioned the terms of the initial debate he had agreed to with Mr Biden.
He suggested that the September 10 debate scheduled for ABC News be moved to another network, accusing ABC of spreading “fake news.”
Last week, in a phone call, reporters asked Mr. Trump whether he would commit to debating Mr.me Harris at least once. He said, “Oh yes, absolutely. I would,” and stressed that there was an obligation to debate.
PHOTO STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris
In Monday’s interview, host Laura Ingraham repeatedly asked Trump if he would commit to a debate.
“I want to get into a debate. But I can also say this. Everybody knows who I am. And now people know who she is,” Mr. Trump responded.
He finally said: “The answer is yes, I will probably end up debating.”
He continued for a minute, saying any debate should happen before early voting begins in states, then added: “The answer is yes, but I can also make the case for not doing that.”
Mr. Trump has previously dodged debates, including all of the 2024 Republican presidential primary debates. He initially skipped out after suggesting the timing was too early, then questioned the location of another debate before finally clarifying that he would not participate in any of them.
Authoritarian language
The Republican candidate also sought to clarify comments he made last week at a conservative event in which he told an audience of Christians that they “wouldn’t have to vote anymore” after he was elected.
He urged Christians, who he said do not vote in large numbers, to vote “just this once,” before adding: “You won’t have to do it again.”
In four years, “it will be settled, everything will be fine. You will no longer have to vote, my beautiful Christians,” he declared.
The comments alarmed Democrats and others who have noted Mr. Trump’s tendency to use authoritarian language, given his past comments that he would only be a dictator on “day one” and his behavior after losing the 2020 presidential election, whose results he refused to accept and sought to overturn.
His campaign and supporters have offered various explanations for Mr. Trump’s comments, and Mr.me Ingraham pushed him to explain what he meant.
“They don’t vote and I tell them that. ‘You never vote.’ This time, vote. I’m going to fix this country. You don’t have to vote anymore. I don’t need your vote,” Trump said.
Mme Ingraham asked if he meant that Christians would not need to vote for him because he will only have four years in office.
“Don’t worry about the future. Vote, you have to vote on November 5th. After that, you won’t have to worry about voting. I don’t care because we’re going to fix it, the country is going to be fixed and we won’t even need your vote anymore because frankly, we’re going to have such love. If you don’t want to vote anymore, that’s okay,” Trump continued.
Donald Trump made similar comments last month at another Christian-focused event, where he lamented the Christian voting rate and implored them to participate in the election.
“In four years, you don’t have to vote, okay? In four years, don’t vote. I don’t care,” he said.