Democratic strategist James Carville stated that former President Trump is hesitant to “debate a girl” in an unusual tirade against Trump following his cancellation of the scheduled ABC debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
On Truth Social, Trump disclosed on Friday that his agreement for a September 10 debate on ABC News “has been terminated” since President Biden is no longer his rival in the presidential race and due to his ongoing lawsuit against the network.
Instead, Trump announced he intends to participate in a debate on Fox News on September 4 with rules that he claims are “similar” to those of his debate with President Biden. If Harris declines to participate in the new debate, the two candidates may not share the stage at all.
TRUMP AGREES TO DEBATE KAMALA HARRIS ON FOX NEWS
Former President Donald Trump holds a rally in the historically Democratic South Bronx on May 23, 2024 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
“I’ll see her on September 4th or, I won’t see her at all,” Trump wrote on Truth Social over the weekend.
During an episode of the “Politicon” podcast on Saturday, Carville insinuated that Trump canceled the ABC debate because he is “terrified” at the prospect of debating “a girl.”
“Trump is supposed to debate on ABC on September 10th, and of course, he’s scared,” Carville remarked. “Na-na-na-na-na, Trump is scared to debate a girl. Now he wants to do Fox. Clearly, he’s frightened because, as we said before, all he can do is panic and the whole situation is falling apart.”
JAMES CARVILLE WARNS DEMOCRATS NOT TO GET TOO COCKY ABOUT KAMALA HARRIS: ‘THIS IS TOO TRIAMPHALIST’
The veteran Democratic strategist proposed that Harris should agree to the new debate only on September 18, which coincides with Trump’s sentencing in New York City.
“I think the debate should take place on the night of September 18th in New York City, and we should be kind to former President Trump. He’s aged and his faculties seem to be deteriorating, but I know he will be in Manhattan on September 18th,” Carville continued. “Well, James, how do you know this? Because that’s the day he’s being sentenced,” he quipped.
Harris replied to Trump via a post on X, stating, “It’s amusing how ‘any time, any place’ transforms into ‘one specific time, one specific safe space.’ I’ll be there on September 10th, as he agreed. I hope to see him there,” she wrote.
Democratic strategist James Carville speaking on PBS. (PBS)
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Previously, Trump mentioned he would avoid debating Harris since she was not the official candidate of the party following Biden’s withdrawal from the race. However, on Friday, the vice president secured enough delegates to officially become the party’s nominee.
Harris expressed last month that she was “ready” for a debate with the former president and insisted that he was retreating from their previous commitment to debate on ABC.
Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.
