Trump slammed ABC News as “the single worst network for unfairness” and called the network “disgraceful” when asked whether he still plans to participate in the Sept. 10 debate against Harris hosted by the network.
The former president — who is suing ABC, alleging defamation — criticized the network’s anchor George Stephanopolous, contributor Donna Brazile and Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl over his interview yesterday with Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., an ally of Trump’s.
“When I looked at the hostility of that, I said, why am I doing it? Let’s do it with another network,” he told NBC News in Falls Church, Virginia, after attending a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery this morning on the third anniversary of the attack that killed 13 U.S. service members in Kabul during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Trump suggested that the debate should be held instead on NBC, CBS, Fox or CNN.
“I think ABC really should be shut out,” he said. “I’d much rather do it on NBC. I’d much rather do it on CBS. Frankly, I think CBS is very unfair, but the best of the group, and certainly I’d do it on Fox. I’d even do it on CNN; I thought CNN treated us very fairly the last time.”
Asked whether he wants the microphone to be muted in the debate whenever he’s not speaking, Trump said he’d rather keep the mics on, although he claimed both sides had agreed to keep them muted when the other candidate is speaking, much like the rules in the June debate between Trump and Biden.
“I don’t know, doesn’t matter to me. I’d rather have it probably on, but the agreement was that it would be the same as it was last time,” Trump said. “In that case, it was muted. I didn’t like it the last time, but it worked out fine.”
“We agreed to the same rules, same rules and same specifications, and I think that’s probably what it should be, but they’re trying to change it,” he added. “The truth is, they’re trying to get out of it because she doesn’t want to debate. She’s not a good debater, she’s not a smart person. She doesn’t want to debate.”
Harris campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said they have proposed having both candidates’ mics on throughout the debate.
Trump suggested yesterday that he’s considering backing out of the Sept. 10 debate on ABC because of the interview with Cotton, which he described as “ridiculous and biased.”
“They’ve got a lot of questions to answer!!!” he wrote in a post to Truth Social last night, adding, “Stay tuned!!!”
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Source link : https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/live-blog/trump-harris-election-live-updates-rcna167982
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Publish date : 2024-08-26 07:24:00
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