Republican nominee Donald Trump had previously dropped out of the ABC News debate after President Joe Biden announced that he would not seek reelection
Discussions on future debates depend on Trump’s participating in the Sept. 10 debate on ABC, the official said.
The Harris campaign had already opposed a Fox debate, saying the host network should be one that sponsored recent primary debates by both parties.
Trump previously suggested he might back out of the ABC debate, scheduled before Harris, the US vice president, replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate less than three weeks ago, upending the contest. The Sept. 10 debate on ABC was to be the second of two agreed upon between Biden and Trump, following their June 27 debate on CNN.
An Ipsos poll published on Thursday found Harris has widened her lead over Trump since late July. She leads Trump 42 per cent to 37 per cent, compared with a July 22-23 Reuters/Ipsos survey that showed her up 37 per cent to 34 per cent over Trump.
Thursday’s Palm Beach news conference was Trump’s first public appearance since Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday.
Harris and Walz have headlined rallies in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin this week, drawing tens of thousands of attendees in a fresh sign of how her late entry into the race has galvanized Democrats.
Thursday’s stop by the Democratic pair at a union hall came as the campaign said it sees labor groups as a key to tipping the balance in the election.
Harris‘ rapid rise has sent Trump’s team scrambling to recalibrate its strategy and messaging. Opinion polls show Harris has erased the lead Trump had built over Biden, and Democrats have raked in hundreds of millions of dollars from voters and big donors since she became the party’s candidate.
