The chief political anchor of Fox News, Bret Baier, called GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump the “hold-up” preventing a debate on the channel between the former president and his Democrat opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
During a Tuesday appearance on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, Baier told the host that he believed Harris would commit to a debate on Fox News—but Trump would not.
“The former president has come to the conclusion that there really shouldn’t be another debate,” he said.
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“I always thought that it would be like a bug zapper in the backyard for the former president in that he couldn’t get away from the light of 70 million viewers and that he would have to eventually, just knowing him, you know, do it if it was on Fox and something he could agree to,” Baier continued. “I’m getting the sense from him and the campaign that they aren’t moving past it, and really, the hold-up is not the Harris campaign and Fox. It is the former president.”
Baier called it a “missed opportunity” for Trump.
He added that the network is also offering town hall events that would be moderated by himself and fellow host Martha MacCallum, but maintained that he thinks a debate would be a “better deal” for the former president.
Before his debate against Harris on ABC, Trump had reportedly agreed to a debate on Fox, but it never happened.
In a Sept. 12 Truth Social post after the ABC debate, Trump called Harris a “no-show” for the Fox debate and wrote that “THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” (The post prompted Democrats across social media to accuse Trump of being a “chicken.”)
Pundits and public opinion polls alike agreed that Harris bested Trump in the first debate between the two candidates, even as Trump declared victory and accused ABC of unfair moderation for fact-checking several of his outlandish claims.
