Harris Didn't Back Out of Sept. 4 Debate

The claim: Kamala Harris ‘backed out’ of Sept. 4 debate with Trump

An Aug. 20 Facebook post (archive link) includes a screenshot of former President Donald Trump's Truth Social post about a Sept. 4 Fox News debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. In it he says Harris won't be doing a Fox News debate on Sept. 4.

“Cackling Kamala has backed out of the debate with President Donald J. Trump,” reads the caption on the post.

The post was shared more than 900 times in three days. Other versions of the claim spread widely on X, formerly Twitter.

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Our rating: False

Characterizing Harris as "backing out" from the debate is inaccurate. Trump proposed Sept. 4 as a date for a debate with Harris, but the vice president never publicly agreed to it. She can't "back out" if she was never in.

Trump wanted to swap ABC News debate because of litigation

Trump’s Aug. 19 Truth Social post said Harris had “just informed us that she will NOT do the FoxNews Debate on September 4.”

Trump suggested that date and network instead of a previously scheduled Sept. 10 debate on ABC News because of what he called a "conflict of interest" with the network given his ongoing litigation against it.

But Harris never publicly agreed to a Sept. 4 debate, as reported by USA TODAY.

“It’s interesting how ‘any time, any place’ becomes ‘one specific time, one specific safe space,’” Harris said in an Aug. 3 X post responding to Trump's proposal. “I’ll be there on September 10, like he agreed to. I hope to see him there.”

Fact check: Supposed Harris pledge to harm 'Trumpers,' ignore Constitution is fabricated

Fox News also referred to Sept. 4 as a “proposed” date for a debate between the two candidates and not an agreed-upon one.

Both candidates have committed to the Sept. 10 debate on ABC.

USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims surrounding presidential debates, including false assertions that President Joe Biden demanded he “not have to stand” during his June debate with Trump and that Biden fell asleep during the event.

USA TODAY reached out to the Harris campaign, Fox News and users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Trump spokesman Stephen Cheung responded but did not answer USA TODAY's questions.

Snopes also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• Fox News, Aug. 20, Trump says Kamala Harris will not participate in Fox News debate on Sept. 4
• USA TODAY, Aug. 20, When is the first presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump?
• Kamala Harris, Aug. 3, X post

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