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Fox News has offered to host a second presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in October. Harris has indicated her willingness, saying she's "ready for a second debate". Trump remains uncertain, saying "we'll see".
The first presidential debate has taken place between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris on ABC News.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Sep 12, 2024 12:46 IST
After the first US presidential debate on ABC News on September 10, Fox News has formally renewed its offer to host a second debate between Vice-President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. The network has proposed holding the debate in October.
Vice-President Kamala Harris has expressed her readiness for a second presidential debate against former President Donald Trump, while Trump has remained noncommittal to another showdown.
In a letter sent to both campaigns, Fox News Media executives Jay Wallace and Jessica Loker reiterated their offer, suggesting Bret Baier, host of "Special Report", and Martha MacCallum, executive editor and anchor of "The Story with Martha MacCallum", as moderators.
The letter said, “FOX News Media is re-upping its proposal. As the Harris Campaign has stated, the American people will have another opportunity to see both on stage in October.”
Earlier, Fox News Media sent formal letters to the Harris and Trump campaigns proposing a presidential debate on September 17 in Pennsylvania.
KAMALA HARRIS READY, TRUMP REMAINS UNCERTAIN
Vice-President Harris has expressed her readiness for a second debate.
"Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?" Kamala Harris campaign wrote on X.
"Under the bright lights, the American people got to see the choice they will face this fall at the ballot box: between moving forward with Kamala Harris or going backwards with Trump,” her campaign added.
Former President Trump, however, has not yet confirmed his participation in a second debate.
“We’re looking at it, but you know, when you win, you don’t really necessarily have to do it a second time. So we’ll see. But I thought we had a great debate last night,” Donald Trump told Fox Media after the debate.
When Fox News asked if he would agree to a second debate and what rule changes he would want, Trump replied, “Well, you know, when you don’t win, it’s like a fighter. When a fighter has a bad fight, gets knocked out or loses the fight, the first thing he says is, ‘We want a rematch.’ So we won the debate according to every poll, every single poll. I think that, are we going to do a rematch? I just don’t know. We’ll think about it.”
Trump did leave open the possibility of participating in another debate, including one proposed by NBC on September 25.
"I would do NBC. I’d do Fox too... But right now we have to determine whether or not we even want to do it,” he said.
FOX NEWS PROPOSED SIMILAR RULES FOR SECOND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Fox News’ proposed criteria and format are similar to those used in the CNN debate in June -- where Donald Trump and Joe Biden faced off, with Biden's performance widely criticised, leading to him dropping out of the race -- and Tuesday’s ABC debate -- where Kamala Harris was widely seen to have outperformed Trump.
Fox News has suggested a 90-minute debate with two commercial breaks, with only Baier and MacCallum asking questions.
Podium placement and the order of closing statements would be decided by a coin flip, and candidates would stand behind podiums without props or pre-written notes.
As the US presidential election approaches, the next debate is scheduled for October 1 between the vice-presidential candidates -- JD Vance and Tim Walz -- hosted by CBS News.
Published By:
Girish Kumar Anshul
Published On:
Sep 12, 2024
