Former President Trump appeared to suggest Wednesday that a legal battle against ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos won’t keep him from debating Vice President Kamala Harris on the Disney-owned network.
Trump told "FOX & Friends" that the media is trying to turn Harris into a liberal version of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and pointed out that the Democratic nominee hasn’t given an interview since President Biden was pushed off the ticket.
"I don’t know how she debates. I heard she’s sort of a nasty person but not a good debater, but we’ll see because we’ll be debating her, I guess, in the pretty near future. It’s going to be announced fairly soon, but we’ll be debating her," Trump said.
TRUMP'S DEFAMATION LAWSUIT AGAINST ABC THROWS WRENCH INTO NETWORK'S DEBATE PLANS
Those comments from Trump sparked curiosity from the "FOX & Friends" co-hosts, as Trump has agreed to debate Harris on Fox News but has insisted a previously planned ABC News debate – that was agreed to when Biden was the presumptive nominee – could be a conflict of interest because he is in litigation against Stephanopoulos.
Trump is suing Stephanopoulos over comments he made in March, when he wrongly asserted that Trump was found "liable for rape" in a civil case multiple times on air. Trump recently scored a victory in the courtroom as ABC failed in its effort to have the defamation lawsuit dismissed. Trump agreed to the ABC debate in May, however, two months after he sued.
"I would like to see it on Fox, by the way… my preference would be Fox," Trump said as Steve Doocy asked if he was ready to make an announcement.
"The most important thing is we get to debate, I think debates are very important," Trump said.
TRUMP'S DEFAMATION LAWSUIT AGAINST ABC, STEPHANOPOULOS CAN MOVE FORWARD, JUDGE RULES
Brian Kilmeade pointed out that Trump is in litigation against ABC News’ biggest star, asking "So, how could you go on ABC?"
"Well, you can use that as an excuse, I could use that. I’ve said that, is there a conflict? You know, there might be. And George Slopadopoulos, he’s got problems and they’ve got problems, but they’re going to have, I guess, David Muir is going to be the host, you have all the hosts are pretty much named, you have Bret and Martha, and they’re great, and I’d love to see it on Fox but, you know, it takes two to tango," Trump said.
"She doesn’t want to debate," Trump said of Harris. "She wants to say I don’t want to debate, but I do want to debate. When it came to Biden, I accepted everything. I accepted Jake Tapper, I accepted everything … pretty much that’s the way I do it right now, because I want to debate her."
Stephanopoulos would not moderate the ABC debate if it happens. ABC's David Muir and Linsey Davis were set to moderate the Sept. 10 showdown between Trump and Biden and remain in place if Trump and Harris do agree to meet.
"Donald Trump is running scared and trying to back out of the debate he already agreed to and running straight to Fox News to bail him out. He needs to stop playing games and show up to the debate he already committed to on Sept 10," Harris spokesman Michael Tyler said last week.
Trump previously agreed to debate Harris on Sept. 4 in Pennsylvania with Fox News anchor Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum serving as moderators. Harris has yet to agree to the Sept. 4 debate.
TRUMP SUES ABC NEWS, GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS FOR DEFAMATION
The lawsuit stems from comments Stephanopoulos made on "This Week" in March during a tense exchange with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.. After playing a clip of Mace discussing being a victim of rape, Stephanopoulos asked her, "How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?"
"You've endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape," Stephanopoulos said, alluding to the legal victory by Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll.
Stephanopoulos repeated that claim ten times during his spat with Mace, despite the fact that a jury actually determined Trump was liable for "sexual abuse" in the civil case, which has a distinct definition under New York law.
Stephanopoulos has remained defiant, and ABC has stood by him.
Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
