Trump says he agreed to THREE debates with Kamala Harris

Donald Trump on Thursday proposed three debates with Kamala Harris this fall. He made the offer during an open press conference in which he gave his rival a new nickname and further underscored questions about her racial identity.

His campaign proposed three debates for September: Fox News would host one on September 4; ABC would host one on September 10 and NBC on September 25.

“We have those three dates and those networks. They’re anxiously awaiting that date and those dates,” Trump said at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago.

The ABC debate was already on the agenda: it was originally supposed to be between Trump and President Joe Biden.

Harris agreed to that debate but did not mention the other two.

“I hear Donald Trump has finally agreed to debate me on September 10th. I can’t wait,” she wrote on X.

Meanwhile, Trump was visibly angry at points in his press conference, repeatedly lashing out at his Democratic rival, calling her the “politically correct” choice for a nominee, questioning her intellect and questioning whether she should be on the ticket at all.

He was also asked about an earlier comment in which he claimed Harris had simply gone black, but he dodged the comment.

“You have to ask her, because she said it. I didn’t say it,” he said. “I think it’s very disrespectful to both of them, whether it’s Indian or black. I don’t care.”

The former president had a long, rambling conversation with reporters at his Palm Beach home, while his advisers reminded him that Harris has not spoken to journalists since her appointment.

During the press conference, which lasted just over an hour, Trump changed topics at a rapid pace.

He defended Biden, then insulted him. He weighed in on everything from abortion rights to marijuana legalization to the state of the economy. He rehashed old arguments, like falsely claiming he had a bigger audience than Barack Obama at his inauguration. And he coined new nicknames, like calling Harris a “first loser.” He criticized reporters for “dumb questions,” then promised “you’ll get more than you bargained for” during press conferences.

Donald Trump proposed three debates with Kamala Harris

Trump did not say whether his team had contacted Harris’ team with their debate proposal. The former president acknowledged that she has yet to sign off on it.

‘“I don’t know if they’ll agree,” he said. “She hasn’t given an interview yet.”

Trump and his team have criticized Harris for not giving a media interview since President Joe Biden withdrew from the race and she became the Democratic presidential nominee.

Her last official television interview was on June 24, when she spoke about abortion rights on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

Trump claimed that Harris “isn’t smart enough to do a press conference.”

“And I think that’s a shame, but we need smart people to lead this country.”

Trump had canceled the Sept. 10 debate with ABC News because he was originally scheduled to debate Biden. Harris had agreed to do so if she replaced Biden.

Trump is also suing ABC and anchor George Stephanopoulos for defamation, calling the ongoing lawsuit a “conflict of interest.”

But now the former president has agreed to meet on the debate stage.

His press conference and debate offer come as Harris enjoys a significant lead in the polls. She led Trump in a new national poll released Thursday and is neck and neck with him in several swing states.

Trump expressed frustration with the attention his rival is receiving.

“Oh, give me a break,” he snapped when asked about the huge crowds at Harris’ rallies. Her largest rally — held in Detroit on Wednesday night — had 15,000 people.

He then exaggerated the size of his rallies and misrepresented the size of the crowds Harris attended.

“Listen, I had 107,000 people in New Jersey. You didn’t report it. I’m so glad you asked. What did she have yesterday? 2,000 people. If I ever had 2,000 people, you’d say my campaign was over. It’s so unfair in the press,” he said.

“If you look at the size of the crowd, never in the history of any country have you had crowds as big as I had, and you know it.”

He even claimed to have larger crowds than those who attended Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech in 1963.

As Trump spoke, ABC News confirmed that the Sept. 10 debate featuring Harris and the former president will go ahead and that both candidates have pledged to attend.

A well-informed source familiar with the negotiations says the ABC debate is expected to take place in Philadelphia.

The negotiations were led by Washington bureau chief Rick Klein and the network’s top producer John Santucci. The debate is hosted by David Muir and Linsey Davis.

Meanwhile, Trump continued to fiercely criticize Harris.

He called her the “first loser” and repeatedly said she had received “no votes.”

He appears to be referring to the 2020 Democratic primaries. Harris, then running for president, dropped out of the race before the first nomination battle, the Iowa caucuses. Her campaign was plagued by infighting and mismanagement.

She eventually became Biden’s running mate.

“She was the first loser,” Trump said. “She was the first to give up, and she gave up. She had no votes, no support, and by the way, she was a bad debater, a very bad debater.”

Donald Trump gave Kamala Harris a new nickname: ‘first loser’

Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Mar-a-Lago

He also called her “the worst vice president in the history of our country – the most unpopular vice president” and indicated that she was chosen as the party’s candidate for “‘to be politically correct.’

In an interview with black journalists last week, Trump questioned whether Harris, who has a black father and a South Asian mother, was even black.

“She was always Indian, and she was just promoting Indian. I didn’t know she was black until a few years ago, when she happened to become black, and now she wants to be known as black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she black?” he said at the event.

Trump had made gains among black voters when Biden was on the ballot. Harris is taking back the votes, and the former president tried to ignore that.

“I seem to do very well with black men. That’s according to the polls, as you know. I may not do as well with black women, but I seem to do very well with other segments — extremely well with Hispanics,” he said.

He also bragged about his followers.

“I seem to be doing very well with other segments, extremely well with Hispanic, Jewish voters, all the way up. White males, all the way up. White males are through the roof. White males, all the way up. I don’t know,” he said.

Trump defended Joe Biden during his press conference – over the two men during their debate

He also defended Biden, his former rival, saying he was confident the president was not happy with his decision to withdraw from the race.

“I don’t know if he’s happy with that decision,” he said. “The presidency was taken away from Joe Biden. And I’m not a Biden fan. But I’ll tell you what, from a constitutional standpoint, from any standpoint you look at it, they took away the presidency.”

“He’s a very angry man now. I can tell you that.”

But he also had to endure some insults.

“I’m not a big fan of his brain,” Trump said of Biden. “But I actually don’t think she’s as smart as he is.”