Trump suggests he could bow out of debate, takes shots at ABC
Former President Trump discusses the upcoming ABC debate and efforts by the Harris campaign to change the rules.
Former President Trump indicated he might pull out of the scheduled debate against Vice President Kamala Harris with ABC News on September 10 after watching the network's Sunday shows.
Trump attacked ABC as "the single worst network for unfairness" during remarks Monday at a campaign stop in Falls Church, Virginia and suggested ABC should be "shut out." He added he felt CNN was fair in the first debate he had with President Biden.
"I watched this weekend and it's the worst of all networks," Trump said of ABC. "George Slopadopalous and all the different people. The worst."
Trump also brought up the spat between his and Harris' campaign over the rules of the debate, which in part concern whether microphones will be cut off for candidates who have finished their allotted speaking times.
Former President Trump is suing ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation after the host said several times on air that the former president was "found liable for rape" during a March 10 interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.
Former President Trump is suing George Stephanopoulos for defamation. (Getty Images)
"They had this Jonathan Karl, who is a lightweight," he said of the ABC Chief Washington Correspondent. "He was asking questions of Tom Cotton, who was fantastic, by the way. Only a total pro could have gotten through that interview."
TRUMP, HARRIS CAMPAIGNS CLASH OVER DEBATE RULES: ‘WE SAID NO CHANGES’
"I watched that group talking to Biden about vanilla ice cream and I watched the way they went after Tom Cotton and Tom Cotton handled it like easy. When you see Jonathan Karl who's terrible, I mean, he's just terrible, just an average person," he added. "But they tell him what to do."
He then slammed Sunday's round table on "This Week," which included former Democratic National Committee interim chair Donna Brazile, whom he called out for feeding Hillary Clinton topics for a town hall ahead of time during the 2016 campaign.
Brazile wrote in an essay for Time magazine in 2017 that she shared potential topics for a CNN town hall with the Hillary Clinton campaign while she served as the DNC vice chair, Politico reported. CNN dropped Brazile as a contributor after the news was published.
Trum also noted Dana Walden, a senior Disney executive whose portfolio includes ABC News, as one of Harris' closest friends. Walden and Harris have known each other since 1994, while their husbands, Matt Walden and Doug Emhoff, have known each other since the 1980s.
Kamala Harris / Dana Walden
36 DAYS: VP HARRIS REFUSES TO REVEAL POLICY POSITIONS, GIVE NEWS CONFERENCES OR INTERVIEWS
Trump said the "hostility" he watched this weekend made him question why he agreed to a debate with ABC.
"Let's do it with another network. I want to do that." he said. "You know, I won because of debates, ask Biden."
"I want to have a fair debate and you know, they can ask me tough questions," he added. "I don't mind. I think I've heard them all from you, I hear them every day. But, I think it's very unfair, the single worst network for unfairness. I think worse than CNN, worse than NBC, which is really hard to believe and CBS is probably the best of the group."
The network's primetime debate is set for Sept. 10, and will be moderated by ABC anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis.
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