Donald Trump lashes out against ABC News, questions whether he'll participate in Sept. 10 debate

Former President Donald Trump on Sunday cast doubt about whether he would participate in the first presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.  

"Why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?" Trump asked in a Truth Social post. He criticized Jonathan Karl’s interview with Tom Cotton on ABC’s “This Week,” as well as the show’s panel of commentators.

ABC News is set to host the debate on Sept. 10. It is the only showdown both nominees have agreed to ahead of Election Day in November. The agreement came after significant back-and-forth, with Trump calling for a debate on Sept. 4 hosted by Fox News that the vice president’s campaign hasn’t accepted. 

Trump focused some of his criticism on Donna Brazile, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, who came under fire in 2016 after Wikileaks released emails showing she sent town hall topics to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The former president also alleged that Harris’ close friend “heads up” ABC in an apparent reference to Dana Walden.

Walden, a Disney executive, has long been friends with Harris. But ABC News has said Walden is only involved in the outlet’s corporate and financial sectors.  

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