President Joe Biden was scheduled to have a second 2024 presidential debate with GOP nominee Donald Trump in September. But with Biden having dropped out of the race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president, that won’t be happening.
If another presidential debate occurs in 2024, it might be a Harris/Trump debate — that is, if Democrats choose her as the nominee. And she is already lining up a lot of endorsements.
But according to MSNBC's Steve Benen, Trump appears reluctant to debate Harris if Democrats nominate her.
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On Truth Social, Trump posted, "Now that Joe has, not surprisingly, quit the race, I think the Debate, with whomever the Radical Left Democrats choose, should be held on FoxNews, rather than very biased ABC. Thank you! DJT."
That post, Benen stresses, is quite a contrast to how eager Trump was to debate Biden.
"When it came to a possible debate against Biden," Benen wrote, "Trump said, 'ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE.' When it comes to a possible debate against Harris, Trump's message is noticeably different. What's more, Politico reported overnight, 'One GOP source tells me he doubts Trump will debate Vice President Kamala Harris — he'll likely call her an illegitimate candidate.'"
Benen adds, "In fairness, it's worth emphasizing that Jason Miller, a senior member of the former president’s campaign team, told NBC News that there will 'definitely' be another debate. Whether his boss ends up agreeing remains to be seen."
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Steve Benen's full MSNBC column is available at this link.