Trump Questions Fairness of Next Week’s Debate at a Town Hall

Hours aft the Trump and Harris campaigns agreed to rules for their first statesmanlike debate, erstwhile President Donald J. Trump sought to instill uncertainty that the statement would beryllium fair, downplayed his request to hole and suggested helium was much disquieted astir the web hosting the statement than his opponent.

Speaking astatine a Fox News municipality hallway connected Wednesday night, Mr. Trump insisted that ABC News, which volition big adjacent week’s statement successful Philadelphia, was “dishonest,” adjacent though helium agreed months agone to let the web to big a statesmanlike debate.

Pointing to Vice President Kamala Harris’s longtime relationship with a elder enforcement whose portfolio includes ABC News, Mr. Trump insisted without grounds that Ms. Harris was “going to get the questions successful advance.” The web released agreed-upon rules that nary topics oregon questions would beryllium provided to either campaigner oregon campaign.

Mr. Trump’s attempts to question the integrity of the statement echoed a akin effort that preceded his consequential statement successful June with President Biden that acceptable disconnected the president’s exit from the race. After taunting Mr. Biden into debating “anytime, anywhere, anyplace,” Mr. Trump sought to play down immoderate imaginable governmental consequences arsenic the statement neared by casting the network, moderators and rules arsenic biased.

“Beyond the statement rules published today, which were mutually agreed upon by 2 campaigns connected May 15th, we person made nary different agreements,” an ABC News spokeswoman said connected Wednesday night. “We look guardant to moderating the statesmanlike statement adjacent Tuesday.”

Yet adjacent arsenic helium suggested the statement adjacent week would beryllium biased against him, Mr. Trump besides tried to contiguous himself arsenic unconcerned astir his archetypal head-to-head confrontation with Ms. Harris since she became the Democratic nominee. He insisted that readying would lone get him truthful acold and that helium would instrumentality a akin attack to Ms. Harris that helium did to Mr. Biden.