The 2024 presidential election has been unique, to say the least, from Donald Trump escaping an assassin’s bullet to Joe Biden withdrawing from the race with only months to go. By extension, the debate schedule is also proving unpredictable.
One debate is of course already behind us. The June 27 contest in Atlanta between former president Donald Trump and President Joe Biden will be remembered as one of the most consequential debates in American history. At that moment, Biden’s candidacy was doomed, and no one could ever again say with a straight face that debates don’t make a difference.
The second presidential debate will feature different opponents than the first. Vice President Kamala Harris became the new face of the Democratic Party when Biden dropped out, and soon became its official nominee. The Harris and Trump camps have agreed to a debate on Sept. 10 on ABC, an event previously arranged by the Biden and Trump camps.
This agreement came only after a dose of typical Trump chaos. He had pulled out of the Sept. 10 debate, insisting Harris debate him on Fox News, which would be friendlier territory for Trump. The former president also seemed to create some wiggle room to skip the debates altogether, saying that he could “make a case for not” debating Harris, merely stating it would “probably” happen.
The idea that Trump would actually refuse to face Harris was always a bit far-fetched, however, as this would make him look weak and scared, and the Harris camp immediately mocked him on such grounds. Further, while Harris, a trained prosecutor and serious human being, will no doubt devastate Trump in the art of rhetoric, reason, and evidence, both cult leader and members are essentially immune to such things, meaning it is doubtful Trump is actually afraid. He will mechanically counter all of Harris’ points with deranged psychobabble and dangerous falsehoods, and his followers will love it.
Trump is calling for three debates in September alone, with the ABC event agreed to and potential Fox News and NBC dates merely suggested. This tight schedule may force Harris to decline dates, opening the door for rightwing mockery (conservatives are already calling her scared for not yet committing to the proposed Fox News debate).
Since 2000, there have been three presidential debates each election, so we will see Trump vs. Harris on Sept. 10 and another evening or two before the Nov. 5 election.