The former president said he’s ‘willing’ and that it’s ‘very important’ for candidates to debate, but that he’s ‘not thrilled’ that ABC News is host Email not displaying correctly?
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** OPINION
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** What is Donald Trump saying about debating Kamala Harris?
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Former President Donald Trump, speaking in Michigan last weekend. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Bring it on. That’s Donald Trump’s latest stance.

Earlier this week, it seemed as if the former president was laying the groundwork to wriggle out of a presidential debate scheduled for Sept. 10 on ABC. This came after he, and everyone else, learned that Joe Biden was no longer going to be the Democratic nominee.

At the very least, Trump said, if there was a debate, it should be on Fox News.

But on Tuesday, Trump said he is willing to debate likely Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. In fact, Trump said it many times.

On a conference call with reporters, Trump said at one point, “I would be willing to do more than one debate, actually.”

He also said, “Yes, absolutely, I’d want to” and “I think if you're the Democratic nominee or Republican nominee, you really have an obligation to debate” and “it’s very important.”

However, Trump reiterated his concerns about the debate being hosted by ABC News. He said, “I’m not thrilled about ABC because (of) fake news I watched last night. They’re actually trying to make a hero out of Joe Biden when he was the worst president in history, and they were doing things like with Kamala, like what a wonderful thing that she is running.”

He added, “I don’t like the idea of ABC.”

The debate between Trump and Biden on June 27 had massive political ramifications. Biden’s performance was so feeble that it started the groundswell to get him to leave the race.

Despite it ultimately going down as one of the most consequential debates in the history of American politics, the viewership numbers were sluggish compared to other recent presidential debates. About 51.2 million tuned in to watch the first debate hosted by CNN and shown across all the major and cable news networks.

While 51 million is still a pretty hefty number, it’s a 30% drop from the first 2020 debate between Biden and Trump, which drew more than 73 million viewers. Go back four years before that, to 2016, and a record 84 million viewers tuned in for the debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton.

So what might a Trump-Harris debate look like? It’s hard to imagine it would get close to the Trump-Clinton numbers, but then again, maybe it would. The guess is it would easily outdistance the 51 million that watched last month’s Biden-Trump debate.


** Biden to speak
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Biden will address the nation tonight from the Oval Office to explain his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, as well as, he wrote in a post on X ([link removed]) , “​​what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people.”

The address is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Biden has been in Delaware, self-isolating with COVID-19. White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor put out a statement Tuesday saying that Biden had taken Paxlovid and had recovered, adding, “Over the course of his infection, he never manifested a fever, and his vital signs remained normal, to include pulse oximetry. His lungs remained clear.”

On Tuesday, Biden was seen publicly for the first time since his Sunday announcement that he was dropping out of the race. Arriving back in Washington, he gave a thumbs up to reporters and said, “I’m feeling well.”

He did not answer any questions.


** Interesting story of the day
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Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking in Wisconsin on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Kamala Harris gave what amounted to her first presidential campaign speech on Tuesday, speaking before a receptive and enthusiastic crowd in the key battleground state of Wisconsin.

Harris laid out the contrast between her and Trump, saying things such as, “It’s a choice between freedom and chaos.” And, “In this campaign, I promise you, I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week.”

But there was another notable moment during Harris’ speech.

She made reference to what sure seems like a questionable move made by those who produced Project 2025 — the nearly 900-page document that basically outlines the agenda for the next Republican administration. Trump has tried to distance himself from it, but CNN’s Steve Contorno recently reported ([link removed]) that “six of Trump’s former Cabinet secretaries helped write or collaborated on the 900-page playbook for a second Trump term published by the Heritage Foundation. Four individuals Trump nominated as ambassadors were also involved, along with several enforcers of his controversial immigration crackdown. And about 20 pages are credited to his first deputy chief of staff. In fact, at least 140 people who worked in the Trump administration had a hand in Project 2025.”

Harris wasted no time on the campaign trail trying to tie Project 2025 to Trump. Then she, in what seemed to be an ad-lib, said of the document ([link removed]) , “Can you believe they put that thing in writing?”

Harris then cited some of the reasons she believes Project 2025 is so dangerous.

I bring up the part about Project 2025 being in writing because that was almost the same thing someone was quoted as saying in a Washington Post article written by Josh Dawsey and Hannah Knowles ([link removed]) on July 8. And who said it? A Trump adviser.

In the story, the unnamed adviser told the Post, “It makes no sense to put all the crazy things you’ll be attacked for down on paper while you’re running. Who thinks, let’s put it all down on paper so we can get attacked in advance, even though we haven’t run it by the president?”

Dan Pfeiffer, a former adviser to former President Barack Obama, told the Post, “Project 2025 is a political gift from the heavens. Donald Trump’s political strength is that he is a Rorschach test to a lot of voters, and the Heritage Foundation did (Democrats) the favor of filling in the details of his agenda in incredibly vivid and clarifying terms.”

Again, this item is about the good hustle by the Post’s Dawsey and Knowles to write, weeks ago, how Project 2025 was something the Democrats could attack. On Tuesday, in her first campaign speech, Harris did just that.


** Question …?
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In recent days and weeks, people such as George Clooney and Barbra Streisand have weighed in on President Joe Biden dropping out of the race and endorsed Kamala Harris for president.

Kid Rock and Hulk Hogan were both on stage at the Republican National Convention.

So it’s clear that celebrity still matters when it comes to presidential politics.

But the big question now is will the biggest celebrity of all these days use her powerful voice to influence this presidential race? Actually, the biggest question of all was the headline in his Vanity Fair piece from Kase Wickman: “Will Taylor Swift Endorse Kamala Harris?” ([link removed])

Don’t underestimate just how much influence the pop superstar might have. As Wickman noted, in 2023, Swift was named the fifth most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine ([link removed]) . (Harris was third.)

Wickman wrote, “An endorsement from Swift would be an incomparable asset to Harris' nascent 2024 campaign.”

Swift’s voice reaches millions, particularly young women. She has the ability to influence a significant number of people to not only get out and vote, but to vote for Harris.

In 2020, Swift went after Trump in a tweet ([link removed]) , writing, “After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? ‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in November.” And she tagged Trump.

That tweet generated nearly 2 million likes.

Wickman wrote, “So the world (especially Democratic organizers) waits with bated breath to see if Swift will throw her considerable cultural weight behind Harris, the newly anointed great hope of the Democratic Party. A ‘Swifties for Harris’ account ([link removed]) on X (formerly Twitter) has already been created, unaffiliated with Swift herself, and the Swifties are at the ready to carry out their stilettoed leader’s bidding.”


** More notable links regarding Biden-Harris-Trump …
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* The Washington Post’s Karin Brulliard, Arelis R. Hernández, Lori Rozsa, Tim Craig, Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Annie Gowen with “‘A complete circus’: Americans react to a historic political moment.” ([link removed])
* In a guest essay for The New York Times, Hillary Clinton with “I Know Kamala Harris Can Beat Donald Trump.” ([link removed])
* The New York Times’ Michael C. Bender with “Vance Adjusts to His New Role, Aboard a Plane With His Name on It.” ([link removed])
* Analysis from The Washington Post’s Aaron Blake: “7 options for Harris’s VP pick, broken down.” ([link removed])
* New York Times critic at large Amanda Hess with “The Triumphant Comeback of the Kamala Harris Meme.” ([link removed])


** Setting more records
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Caitlin Clark, left, during last Saturday’s WNBA All-Star Game. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The WNBA, with a big assist from rookie star Caitlin Clark, continues to set TV viewership records.

Last Saturday’s WNBA All-Star game on ABC drew an average audience of 3.44 million viewers, making it the largest audience ever for a WNBA All-Star Game. The previous record was in 2003 when 1.4 million turned in on ABC. So that means this year’s game was a 139% increase over the previous record.

This year’s All-Star Game had a bit of a wrinkle. The game was between the U.S. national team that will compete in the upcoming Olympics and the WNBA all-stars who aren’t on the national team. The WNBA team beat the Olympic team, 117-109. Clark, playing for the WNBA team, had only four points, but led all players with 10 assists. Arike Ogunbowale, playing on the WNBA team, led all scorers with 34 points. Breanna Stewart led the U.S. team with 31 points.

But one can’t help how much Clark’s appearance in the game drove the record TV numbers.


** Media tidbits
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* Micah Loewinger has been named co-host of WNYC’s “On the Media,” the award-winning weekly public radio show and podcast that analyzes the media. He will join Brooke Gladstone, who has hosted the program for more than 20 years. Loewinger joined “On the Media” eight years ago as a producer, then became the show’s first-ever reporter. He also has served as a guest host.

* The BBC is expected to lay off 500 by March 2026. Deadline’s Max Goldbart has more ([link removed]) .
* MediaNation’s Dan Kennedy with “Newsletters move to the fore as tech platforms spurn community journalism.” ([link removed])
* Popular Information’s Judd Legum and Rebecca Crosby with “Top Sinclair anchor resigned over concerns about biased and inaccurate content.” ([link removed])


** Hot type
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* The Washington Post’s Molly Hensley-Clancy with a story about disturbing behavior in the world of gymnastics: “Accused of abuse — and back in the gym.” ([link removed])


** More resources for journalists
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* Lead With Influence ([link removed]) is for leaders who manage big responsibilities but have no direct reports.
* Will Work for Impact ([link removed]) brings investigations to life.
* Try our dynamic, in-person, five-day workshop ([link removed]) for new newsroom managers.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
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