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Former United States president and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Thursday refused to debate with his Democratic rival and Vice President Kamala Harris until the Democrats formally decide on their nominee, whereas the latter said that she is ready for a debate.
"You have been asking me about the debate and I'll tell you I'm ready to debate Donald Trump. I have agreed to the previously agreed upon September 10 debate," Harris told reporters at Joint Base Andrews on her return from Houston.
"He (Trump) agreed to that previously. Now here he is backpedaling and I'm ready and I think the voters deserve to see the split screen that exists in this race on a debate stage. And so I'm ready to go," Harris said.
Trump was declared the Republican party nominee at its convention in Milwaukee this month, Harris is all set to be declared the party's nominee at its convention in Chicago in August.
"Given the continued political chaos surrounding Crooked Joe Biden and the Democrat Party, general election debate details cannot be finalized until Democrats formally decide on their nominee," Trump Campaign Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a late night statement.
"There is a strong sense by many in the Democrat Party -- namely Barack Hussein Obama -- that Kamala Harris is a Marxist fraud who cannot beat President Trump, and they are still holding out for someone 'better'. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to schedule things with Harris because Democrats very well could still change their minds," Cheung said.
Trump and US President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the race over the weekend and was succeeded by Harris, had previously agreed to two debates on June 27 and September 10.
Biden's disastrous debate in Atlanta on June 27 ultimately led him to quit the race three weeks later. The September 10 debate was previously agreed to be hosted by ABC News. The June 27 debate was hosted by CNN.
Trump had told reporters early this week that he had agreed to a debate with Biden but was ready to debate Harris.
"But I want to debate with her and she'll be no different because they have the same policies. I would be willing to do more than one debate actually," he said, adding that he was not thrilled with ABC.
Meanwhile, Fox News Media has proposed a debate between Trump and Harris on September 17 in Pennsylvania.
'Now that Vice President Kamala Harris is the presumptive Democratic nominee, FOX News Media is amending our proposal for a debate this cycle. Given the race has changed, we'd like to request the opportunity to host a Presidential Debate between VP Harris and former President Trump,' Fox News Media said in letters sent to each campaign.
'We propose to host the debate in the state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, September 17, just as early voting is getting underway there and in other key battlegrounds. We are open to discussion on the exact date, format and location with or without an audience,' the letter said.
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Sexist, racist attacks on Harris 'disgusting': White House
The White House on Thursday described as 'disgusting' the increasing sexist and racist attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris which has intensified after she became the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic party.
"I think it's desperate. I think it's disgusting and I think it's a dog whistle. We should not forget that she is the Vice President of the United States. She should get that respect. She's been doing this job with the president for almost four years," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference.
"She's a former Senator and has been a critical partner in getting the economy restarted and making sure that -- that we deal with the pandemic. And to hear that is, frankly, disgusting," Jean-Pierre said when asked about the increase in racist and sexist attacks against Harris, who is of both India and African origin.
It increased to such a level that the House Speaker Mike Johnson had to ask his Republican lawmakers to avoid such an attack.
"When you have the speaker of the House, obviously he's a Republican, and this is something that you all have reported, set up a meeting to tell Republican leaders to stop being racist, to stop being misogynist, to stop being sexist, I think that says a lot that they have to be told to not do that," Jean-Pierre said.
According to Politico, "House Republican leaders told lawmakers to focus on criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris' record without reference to her race and gender, following caustic remarks from some Republicans attacking her on the basis of identity."
At an election rally in North Carolina, former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had said Vice President Harris is 'unfit to rule' and described her as a 'radical left lunatic'.
"For three and a half years, Lyin Kamala Harris has been the ultra-liberal driving force behind every single Biden catastrophe. She is a radical left lunatic who will destroy our country if she ever gets the chance to get into office. We're not going to let that happen," Trump said on Wednesday as he unleashed a torrent of attacks against her.
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Attacking Harris on basis of gender or race is not helpful: Haley
Attacking Vice President Kamala Harris, presumptive nominee of the Democratic party, is not helpful, Republican leader Nikki Haley said on Thursday and insisted that she needs to be criticized based on her policies.
"It's not helpful. It's not helpful. I mean, we're talking about a liberal senator who literally has not accomplished very much and what she was given she didn't do much with. You don't need to talk about what she looks like or what gender she is to talk about that. The American people are smarter than that," Haley told CNN in an interview.
She was responding to a question on the attack on Harris based on the colour of her skin and gender.
"Talk about the fact that she doesn't believe in fracking. Tell that to the voters in Pennsylvania. Talk about the fact that she doesn't want to talk about paying down debt. She wants to increase taxes. Tell that to the American people. Talk about the fact that consumer prices have gone up 19.5% since Joe and Kamala were in office," she said.
"Talk about the fact that she's always sided with the Palestinian protests instead of our friend Israel. There are so many issues we can talk about when it comes to Kamala Harris. It doesn't matter what she looks like. It matters what she said, what she's fought for, and the lack of results that she's had because of it," Haley said.
The former Republican presidential candidate, who lost to Donald Trump in the primary race, said she was not surprised when Democratic nominee and incumbent President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, paving the way for Harris to be on the party's ticket.
"I wasn't surprised and I didn't take happiness in it. Through the whole campaign, I fought for mental competency tests. I wasn't doing it to be disrespectful. I wasn't doing it to be mean. I was doing it because I think it's not just Joe Biden. There is an issue that we have in DC where people will go into office and they won't let go. And then their staffers and their family keep propping them up and it's a problem for the American people," she said
"So, I never thought he would make it to the election. I always said a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris, and I think that's what's playing out," she said.
Haley, the former South Carolina Governor and US Ambassador to the United Nations, said the Democrats are very smart to put in a younger candidate.
"I think that that's what America has craved. But I think what you look at is they put in the weakest candidate they could put in," she said.
"You look at the fact that Kamala.. she had one job. That was to deal with illegal immigration and the border. She didn't do it. She was the most progressive Senator that we had next to Bernie Sanders. You can see it playing out, whether it's the fact that she didn't show up at Bibi's speech yesterday, whether it's the fact that she pushed for all this government spending, whether it's the fact that when she was in California, the most liberal state, there was no tax she didn't propose. There was nothing that she didn't want to see," Haley said.
"All of her, the things she's doing from not wanting fracking to not wanting oil drilling, all of these things are incredibly liberal. And she is much more progressive than Joe Biden ever was. So, the fact that they put in Kamala Harris, kudos for putting in someone younger. The fact that you put in one of the most liberal politicians you probably could have put in it's going to be an issue," Haley said.