Fox News is trying once again to lure Donald Trump and Kamala Harris for a debate—with terms neither side will likely agree to.
The network announced on Wednesday it invited both campaigns to an Oct. 24 or an Oct. 27 debate in Pennsylvania. The proposed showdown would be moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, the network’s go-to emcees for such forums, and the format would mirror the presidential debates already hosted by CNN and ABC.
In its plea to the campaigns, the network tried to tout its ratings and New York Times columnist David Swerdlick’s suggestion that Harris agree to a Fox News debate, according to the network.
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The Harris campaign confirmed that it received the invitation from Fox. And a Harris campaign aide noted that the vice president has already agreed to participate in a CNN debate scheduled for Oct. 23. The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
A Fox-hosted debate at this juncture is likely a nonstarter for both campaigns, which have both largely moved on from such a prospect. While the Harris campaign committed to the CNN debate, scheduled to be held in Georgia, it rebuked offers from both NBC and Fox News for a second face-off with Trump. (Trump has until noon on Thursday to accept CNN's debate offer.)
The former president, meanwhile, has virtually abandoned the notion of another debate entirely. He has repeatedly suggested he would not agree to a second debate with Harris (even while leaving the door ajar), and has ignored CNN’s offer for the Oct. 23 debate. Chris LaCivita, a top Trump campaign official, told NBC on Wednesday the campaign has not “and we won’t” change its mind about another debate.
Even a Fox News debate doesn’t seem palatable to Trump. The morning after the ABC match-up last month, Trump rebuked both Baier and MacCallum on Fox News’ airwaves and offered his own suggestions for moderators.
“I wouldn’t want Martha and Bret. I’d love to have somebody else other than Martha and Bret,” Trump told Fox & Friends. “I’d love to have, frankly, Sean [Hannity] or Jesse [Watters] or Laura [Ingraham]—you know, somebody else. Let’s give somebody else a shot.”
Baier seemed to recognize Trump as the barrier to a Fox debate, telling conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt last month he was surprised the former president would actively avoid the multimillion-viewer platform a debate would give him.
“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 said. “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.”
