Kamala Harris is currently leading Donald Trump in the polls ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, according to a recent report. An ABC News/Ipsos poll shows the Democratic presidential nominee maintaining a solid lead over her Republican opponent. Additionally, Harris is favored to win the September 10 presidential debate against Trump, with predictions showing a 43% to 37% advantage.
Trump announced last Tuesday that he had "reached an agreement" for the September 10 debate with Harris, just two days after threatening to withdraw. However, there has been no confirmation from Vice President Harris regarding any such deal. Trump took to his Truth Social platform to declare that the debate, hosted by ABC, would adhere to the same rules as CNN’s June 27 debate, with no studio audience and each candidate’s microphone muted while the other speaks.
Despite calling ABC "by far the nastiest and most unfair newscaster in the business," Trump stated that the network assured him the debate in Philadelphia would be "fair and equitable." However, the Harris campaign, which had been advocating for open mics throughout the debate, accused Trump of shifting the goalposts and was non-committal about accepting the proposed terms.
"Both candidates have publicly expressed their willingness to debate with unmuted mics to allow for substantive exchanges, but it seems Donald Trump is letting his handlers overrule him. Sad!" the Harris campaign said in a statement.
Trump had previously hesitated to participate in the debate, which follows Harris’s rapid rise as the Democratic White House nominee after President Joe Biden stepped aside following his poor performance in the CNN debate.