U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Brendan McDermid | Elisabeth Franz | Reuters
Fox News invited Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump to debate in Pennsylvania on Sept. 17, according to a copy of the letter obtained by CNBC.
The invitation came a day after President Trump said in a call with reporters that he was willing to debate Harris, the newly minted Democratic nominee.
Fox News has offered to have political anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum serve as debate moderators. The company said it is “open to discussion” about the exact terms of the debate, including the date, format, location and whether there will be an in-person audience.
Harris and the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on whether they would accept the invitation.
This debate will be a redemption opportunity for Democrats after President Joe Biden’s dismal debate performance in June.
The Biden-Trump debate was scheduled for September 10 and was to be carried by ABC News, but Trump withdrew from the race on Sunday amid growing concerns across the Democratic Party about his age and health.
Trump said at a news conference Tuesday that he would be open to debating Harris, but added that he “doesn’t like the idea of ABC.” Meanwhile, the former president consistently praises Fox News.
Just days after Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris as his successor, the vice president has seen her approval ratings rise over Trump in early polls and raised a record amount of donations.
The Trump campaign, which has spent the past several months funding the campaign against Biden, has focused on portraying Harris as just another face of the same old story.
“I would love to debate her,” Trump said Tuesday. “She would be no different, because they have the same policies.”
