Vice President Kamala Harris said on Tuesday that she hopes former President Donald Trump will meet her on the debate stage later this year despite his apparent efforts to skip out on those plans now that she’s the Democrats’ presumptive nominee to face him in November.
Harris rallied a crowd of 10,000 supporters in Atlanta on Tuesday, her first visit to Georgia after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and cleared the way for her campaign.
“This is a people-powered campaign, in fact … the momentum in this race is shifting, and there are signs that Donald Trump is feeling it,” the vice president said. “You may have noticed.”
Trump has now repeatedly expressed doubt about participating in the next debate, scheduled for September 10 on ABC News.
And while he said on Monday he would “probably” debate Harris at some point, he added that “everybody knows who I am,” suggesting a debate appearance may not benefit him.
In Atlanta, Harris hit the former president for backing out of those plans, repeating her ding that Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, were “just plain weird” and had a “lot to say about me.”
“Here’s the funny thing about that,” Harris said. “So he won’t debate, but he and his running mate sure seem to have a lot to say about me.”
“Well, Donald, I do hope you’ll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage,” she said, “because as the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.”
Harris has catapulted into the campaign over the past 10 days, raising more than $200 million (£155m) and signing up more than 170,000 volunteers. And recent polls have shown her closing the gap in most swing states.