Trump and Harris agree to debate on 10 September, ABC says (2024)

Summary

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have agreed to a 10 September debate on ABC, the network says, setting up the first showdown between the candidates
Earlier, former US President Donald Trump held a rare news conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida
Trump said he wants to debate Harris multiple times, and he had agreed to three dates in September
He also said he was "pretty much recovered" from the wound to his ear after an assassination attempt on his life last month
The US presidential election will be held on 5 November

Live Reporting

Edited by Emily McGarvey, Caitlin Wilson and Brandon Livesay

Donald Trump to speak shortlypublished at 18:56 British Summer Time 8 August
18:56 BST 8 August
Image source, US Pool
In the next 10 minutes, we're expecting Donald Trump to speak at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida.
He hasn't given much away on the purpose of this event, posting only to his Truth Social platform to say that it will be a "general news conference".
See Also
What is Roblox Deepwoken? | Beginner tips and tricks Deepwoken races - All races, skills, and how to reroll
The podium is set, so stick with us for live updates, and you can watch along by pressing watch live at the top of this page.
How have Trump and Vance gone after Walz?published at 18:52 British Summer Time 8 August
18:52 BST 8 August
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
The Trump campaign has already branded him a "dangerously liberal extremist" and a “far-left lunatic”.
They point to Tim Walz’s record in Minnesota of enacting progressive social programmes and accuse him of not doing enough to control the demonstrations that broke out after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers in 2020.
At the very least, Republicans may welcome not having to face off against Josh Shapiro, who has a more centrist profile and might have given Kamala Harris a decisive boost in Pennsylvania.
JD Vance, Walz's Republican adversary for the vice-presidency, said Harris's choice of running mate shows she is willing to "bend the knee to the most radical elements of her party".
Trump, meanwhile, said Walz will unleash "HELL ON EARTH and open our borders to the worst criminals imaginable".
But even if Walz provides a more inviting target for Republicans, making that rhetoric stick on his friendly, meat-and-potatoes persona will be no easy task for the Trump campaign.
How do Vance and Walz's military records compare?published at 18:42 British Summer Time 8 August
18:42 BST 8 August
Image source, Getty Images
Jake Horton, BBC Verify
Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz’s military record has been closely scrutinised since he was announced as Kamala Harris's running mate.
Historic accusations made by some veterans have been revived by his opposite number, Republican JD Vance, who himself served in the military.
Walz served for 24 years in the Army National Guard - but Vance has claimed that “when Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the army and allowed his unit to go without him".
We’ve looked at the sequence of events at the time of Walz’s departure from the military:
In February 2005 he filed an application to run for Congress. The following month it was announced that there would be “a possible partial mobilisation” of troops from the Minnesota National Guard to Iraq within the next two years.
In May that year, Walz retired from the National Guard to focus, he said, on his election campaign, which he ultimately won.
In July 2005, his National Guard unit received orders to mobilise for Iraq and was deployed there in March 2006
Vance also said Walz has been dishonest about his role in the military.
- BBC Verify has looked into the claims and both of their records of military service
Does crowd size matter?published at 18:34 British Summer Time 8 August
18:34 BST 8 August
Nomia Iqbal
North America correspondent
Image source, Reuters
Donald Trump loves to compare crowd sizes. And the Harris campaign knows it. They have even been mocking him over it on his own social media platform, external.
Tuesday's event in Philadelphia was packed. I spotted a few empty spots, but for the most part the 10,000-seat arena was full. It was after all the first event where Harris unveiled her running mate Tim Walz.
Last night, Harris continued giving Trump a run for his money - doing something out of his playbook by pulling up in Detroit at an airport hangar with Air Force 2 plane in view to be greeted by a huge crowd. Her campaign says more than 12,000 people are out tonight.
But does size matter?
Huge crowds and lines of cars aren’t always a barometer of a campaign’s destiny. In 1984, Democratic nominee Walter Mondale was trailing Ronald Reagan but pointed to the size of his crowds as a sign of enthusiasm that would translate into votes at the ballot box.
The same thing happened with Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis four years later when he was trailing Republican nominee George H W Bush.“I smell victory in the air don’t you?" he told a large crowd in Kentucky on his final weekend on the campaign trail.
He also lost.
Rallies are simply to "rally" supporters into a deeper commitment - but that doesn’t mean there’s no political benefit at all.
They can often be an incentive for people to find out more to check out the hype around a candidate or to actually ensure those who back a candidate will donate money and actually vote.
Trump pressed over size of rally crowdspublished at 18:27 British Summer Time 8 August
18:27 BST 8 August
Image source, Reuters
Donald Trump has been very vocal on his Truth Social platform this morning, posting dozens of updates ahead of his news conference at 14:00 EDT (19:00 BST). The former president says when he eventually debates Kamala Harris, he will “expose” her “the same way I exposed Crooked Joe”.
Trump also claims Harris, who officially became the Democratic nominee in recent days, “refuses to do interviews because her team realizes she is unable to answer questions”.
He took aim the media for how it reports the size of the crowds at their respective rallies, saying: “If Kamala has 1,000 people at a Rally, the press goes ‘crazy,’ and talks about how ‘big’ it was… when I have a rally, and 100,000 people show up, the fake news doesn’t talk about it”.
The Harris campaign has mocked Trump over his crowd comparisons on X., external
Weather hinders campaign plan for both sidespublished at 18:22 British Summer Time 8 August
18:22 BST 8 August
Image source, EPA
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz were scheduled to travel to campaign events in North Carolina today, but their plans were foiled by Tropical Storm Debby, which is drenching the southeastern US coast.
The storm has also forced the cancellation of Harris-Walz events in South Carolina and Georgia this week.
Republican VP candidate JD Vance, who has been following the Democrats' campaign map to hit the trail in the same states as them, has also cancelled an event in North Carolina as intense rain and flooding have battered the region.
At least five people were killed after Debby slammed into Florida as a category one hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm.
The storm unleashed prolonged downpours and flooding to historic southern US cities.
In the coming days, Harris and Walz are headed to events in Arizona and Nevada.
Harris leads Trump in new national surveypublished at 18:04 British Summer Time 8 August
18:04 BST 8 August
Image source, EPA
Trump’s news conference comes after a new national survey was published which shows Vice-President Kamala Harris leading as the choice for president.
The survey, published by Marquette Law School, external, shows 52% of registered voters want Harris for president, while 48% chose former president Trump.
Among likely voters - those who have indicated they strongly intend to vote - Harris leads Trump by six points, 53% to 47%.
This suggests Harris is outperforming Biden's previous support, before the president dropped out of the race - a Marquette poll back in May put Trump and Biden neck and neck among registered voters, while Trump took 51% of likely voters and Biden 49%.
In reaction to Harris becoming the Democratic nominee, 87% were very or somewhat satisfied.
Return to the latest post
Wednesday campaign recappublished at 18:02 British Summer Time 8 August
18:02 BST 8 August
While political news is unfolding throughout the US today, Wednesday's campaign events were laser-focused on the Midwest, especially the region’s swing states. Here’s a brief recap of what went down yesterday:
- Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance spoke at a local warehouse in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he condemned Kamala Harris for not speaking to reporters and where he attacked the Democrats on their energy policy and their handling of the US-Mexico border
- Meanwhile, Democrats Harris and Tim Walz held a rally, also in Eau Claire, where they sought the support of local union workers. Later in the day, the two held a similar, albeit larger, rally near Detroit, Michigan
- At both rallies, Walz and Harris positioned themselves as "joyful warriors" who are fighting to preserve Americans' freedoms, while positioning Trump and Vance as candidates who want to take those freedoms away
- In Michigan, Harris was briefly interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters, who have criticised the Biden administration's response to the war in Gaza. Harris shot back at them by saying, "I'm speaking”
Donald Trump to hold news conferencepublished at 18:02 British Summer Time 8 August
18:02 BST 8 August
Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments on the US campaign trail.
Former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump is set to host a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida at 14:00 ET (1900 BST).
Democratic candidate Vice-President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz are set to speak in Michigan later before heading to Arizona.
As the presidential campaign gets into full gear, you can catch up on anything you might have missed over the last few days below:
US election 2024: A really simple guide to the presidential vote
Biden 'not confident' of peaceful transition if Trump loses
In one US state, women politicians dominate. What pointers can it offer Kamala Harris?
We’ll bring you all the latest news and analysis from around the country today, so stick with us.