After weeks of back and forth, Donald Trump said he will debate Vice President Kamala Harris on an ABC News-produced debate Sept. 10, 2024, during a press conference Aug. 8, 2024. Saying he felt “it’s very important to have debates,” Trump erroneously said he would appear at the ABC event Sept. 25, 2024.
However, it was later confirmed that ABC would host its matchup on Sept. 10, 2024, the debate it previously announced and solidified with Trump and President Joe Biden. Trump previously debated then-candidate President Biden June 27, 2024, in an event produced by CNN, leading to what was widely considered a disastrous performance by Biden — and largely led to his eventual decision to step aside.
ABC’s debate rules are not immediately clear, including whether or not an audience will be present. A location is still up in the air as well. ABC had planned on having “ABC World News Tonight” anchor David Muir and ABC News Live anchor Linsey Davis moderate, but it is not immediately clear if they will still appear in those roles.
Trump had previously said that because he is in litigation with ABC and “George Slopadopolus” (his nickname for George Stephanopoulos), he considered the network’s debate proposal to be a “conflict of interest.” The lawsuit was originally filed in March 2024, though a July 24, 2024, ruling in the case did firm up some aspects of the suit. Trump had agreed to the ABC-hosted debate in May 2024, a few weeks after filing his lawsuit against ABC. It’s not clear why he did not consider the arrangement a conflict then (Stephanopoulos was not slated to moderate) or if he still considers it an issue.
Meanwhile, NBC has reportedly offered Sept. 25, 2024, as one possibility for an event on its network, while Fox’s conservative cable network has offered Sept. 4, 2024. Harris has said she will not participate in a Fox-hosted event and has not officially accepted NBC’s invitation as of this writing.
It’s not immediately clear if ABC will allow other networks to carry its feed of the debate as CNN did, or if such an arrangement might be subject to certain rules or limitations. CNN also opted to air commercial breaks during its June 27 event; traditionally presidential debates between official party nominees do not feature advertising breaks. It’s not clear what ABC’s plans are for commercials.