Former President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he would debate Vice President Kamala Harris if she becomes the Democratic nominee.
The 45th president said he would “absolutely” want to face off against his new rival and would like to do so more than once.
“I agreed to a debate with Joe Biden but I want to debate her and she’ll be no different, because they have the same policies,” Former President Trump said during a media call, the Associated Press reported.
The Republican presidential nominee previously faced off with President Joe Biden in Atlanta last month in a debate hosted by CNN. The former president had also committed to a second debate against President Biden that was scheduled for Sept. 10 and to be hosted by ABC News. Former President Trump, however, expressed distaste for the network and suggested that any debate with Harris should not be hosted by the network.
“I’m not thrilled about ABC because [of the] fake news I watched last night,” he said. “They’re actually trying to make a hero out of Joe Biden when he was the worst president in history, and they were doing things like with Kamala, like what a wonderful thing that she is running.”
President Biden dropped out of the race Sunday afternoon and endorsed his vice president as his replacement. Ms. Harris has since received the backing of enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee. She also received key endorsements from her party and raised $100 million since launching her campaign.
“She’s the same as Biden, [but] more radical,” Former President Trump told reporters. “She’s a radical person and this country doesn’t want a radical left person to destroy it. She’s far more radical than he is. She wants open borders. She wants things that nobody wants.”
He told reporters that it’s important to debate and that both Democrat and Republican nominees have an obligation to do so.
Ms. Harris during her first major campaign rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin told supporters that she would “proudly” put up her record against his. The Democrat presumptive nominee has not yet publicly commented on whether she is also open to debating her Republican rival.