Trump says September 10 debate will be in Philadelphia, but no confirmation yet

Former President Donald Trump said over the weekend that ABC’s September 10 presidential debate would take place at Independence Hall. The network has not yet confirmed that.

ABC reported Sunday that the location and venue of the presidential debate, during which Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump will face each other for the first time, have not yet been confirmed.

Independence National Park did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump’s decision to finally agree to debate Harris on ABC on September 10 has turned into something of a saga. Former President initially withdrawn from debate ABC, arguing that the event was moot because it was originally scheduled with then-Democratic candidate President Joe Biden as his opponent. Biden’s disastrous performance in the debate in June led to the collapse of his re-election bid, which resulted in Harris’ advancement as the running mate.

Trump said in a post on the social media platform Truth Social that the debate was “over” due to Biden’s campaign suspension. He then suggested a debate with Harris on Sept. 4 in Pennsylvania on Fox News with a full house. Fox News suggested a debate for both candidates on Sept. 17 in Pennsylvania.

“I either see her on September 4th or not at all,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on August 3.

Finally, after much opposition and ridicule from the Harris campaignTrump recommitted to the Sept. 10 debate during a false-concept news conference at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida golf club and residence, last week. He also continued to promote a Sept. 4 Fox News debate and has proposed another one: Sept. 25 on NBC.

Harris campaign he told ABC News last week, she did not want to debate Trump on Fox on September 4, with any future debates contingent on the former president appearing at the September 10 event, adding that she was willing to discuss future debates.

Trump also said that participating in the ABC debate would constitute a “conflict of interest,” while the former president ongoing lawsuit against ABC News and George Stephanopoulos on the characterization of the presenter of the jury decision in the civil case involving E. Jean Carroll. Trump admitted to Fox and friends last week that the lawsuit would not prevent him from appearing on ABC because World news tonight presenter David Muir and ABC News Live Prime Presenter Linsey Davis will moderate the debate.

Asked by reporters on Thursday why she thought Trump originally pulled out of the ABC debate, Harris replied, “I’m not going to speculate on his views.”

Our journalist Maddie Hanna contributed to this article.