# Trump and Harris agree to September 10th ABC debate - Watch Along Starts at Post 431 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump, kamala-harris\ **Created:** [August 8, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440 "2024-08-08T20:59:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/21 "2024-08-08T23:56:48Z")
If there is a Faux debate, Harris should ask Trump about Dominion. See how fast the hosts scramble with their disclaimer. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/22 "2024-08-08T23:57:22Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > As a matter of principle, Harris should refuse to debate on Fox News, . . . > > As a matter of principle, she shouldn’t give up deeply held beliefs just because they are unpopular. I don’t know what this means or how it has any relevance to what I said. The principle involved here is the same one where, during the Obama administration, Obama called out Fox News for being a shitty pseudo-news organization and propaganda arm of the Republican Party. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2024, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/23 "2024-08-08T23:58:10Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I wonder how Harris will respond? I would say “we’ll discuss two more if you actually show up for the first one like we agreed.” ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/24 "2024-08-09T00:00:26Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Harris has to play a perfect game the whole time. Much, much more difficult for her. Yeah, I have no idea how she prepares for a debate with this clown. He’ll be all over the place. Hard to practice against such unpredictability. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/25 "2024-08-09T00:01:34Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > [Trump] saying debates weren’t necessary because “everyone knows me”, To be fair, he’s not wrong. > [@bobot](#): > > If there is a Faux debate, Harris should ask Trump about Dominion. See how fast the hosts scramble with their disclaimer. And the funny thing is, all she has to do is bring it up in passing (ie "I’m sure you remember when Mr Trump lied about the voting machines…) and when it’s his chance to speak, he’ll rehash the whole thing and bring up the same lies again. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/26 "2024-08-09T00:02:10Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Whether she agrees to a particular debate isn’t a matter of principle. That is _precisely_ what it is when it comes to debates on Fox. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/27 "2024-08-09T00:05:29Z")
I think that one positive (among many) about Trump debating is that every debate against Harris (or Walz in the case of a VP debate) will be another golden opportunity for Trump and his ilk to showcase their spectacular levels of ignorance, dishonesty, and toxicity. The more the better. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/28 "2024-08-09T00:05:34Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I have no doubt she is light years ahead of Trump on any stage. She is far, far smarter. But that will not matter if Trump just lurks behind her and has more opportunity to blather his bullshit. All that matters, with debates, is if the 14 percent or so of swing voters, among those who watch, think a certain candidate won. In 2016 and 2020 general election debates, Trump lost by that standard every time. Doesn’t matter that he lurked behind Clinton. Trump lost the debates. Is it absolutely guaranteed that Harris will win by that standard? No, but it is probable. Thr question then becomes — is she less likely to win when the moderators are Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum? I think not. If anything, there would be an expectation that Harris would have problems in a Fox debate, so when she did similar to how she did on ABC, it would be a bigger win. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/29 "2024-08-09T00:09:34Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Yeah, I have no idea how she prepares for a debate with this clown. He’ll be all over the place. Hard to practice against such unpredictability. I hope and/or assume that she has the smarts, memory and ability to think quickly on her feet that she can and will very effectively call him on every piece of BS that he tries. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/30 "2024-08-09T00:11:22Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I have no idea how she prepares for a debate with this clown. He’ll be all over the place. Hard to practice against such unpredictability. He’s not just all over the place, but in the last debate, he also blatantly avoided answering questions he didn’t like by using up all his time addressing Biden’s previous response to some other question. It was like, “By the way, …” and the “by the way” took up all the time, and the question went unanswered. Harris doesn’t need to prepare in any special way. She should just insist on the mic-cutoff policy, because Trump never follows debate rules, and she should call him out on his lies and his refusal to answer questions. > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Thr question then becomes — is she less likely to win when the moderators are Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum? I think not. I think there are at least two risks. One is that the questions are favourable to Trump and tougher on Harris, and the many issues where Trump is vulnerable are avoided. While Trump lies about everything, some subjects are much easier for him to deal with than others. The other risk is that if there’s an audience, you can bet that a Fox audience is going to be just about all Trumpists. In a debate, that’s even worse than a home-team advantage in sports. It can be very off-putting to the “outsider” that the audience dislikes. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/31 "2024-08-09T00:16:14Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The principle involved here is the same one where, during the Obama administration, Obama called out Fox News for being a shitty pseudo-news organization and propaganda arm of the Republican Party. There is nothing wrong with debating propaganda arms of the Republican Party. Donald Trump is a propaganda arm of the Republican Party. And Harris is properly debating him. AFAIK, the proposed Fox News moderators, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, are much less propaganda arms of the Republican Party than is Donald Trump. But even if they switched out moderators, if Harris’s best advisors think it would help her chances of winning, she should do it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/32 "2024-08-09T00:21:43Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > There is nothing wrong with debating propaganda arms of the Republican Party. No, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. A debate should be conducted in neutral circumstances with fair and unbiased moderation. There’s plenty wrong with agreeing to a debate in which a propaganda arm of the Republican party **makes all the rules, moderates the debate, formulates the questions, and controls the venue**. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/33 "2024-08-09T00:23:56Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > > [@Railer13](#): > > > > Yeah, I have no idea how she prepares for a debate with this clown. He’ll be all over the place. Hard to practice against such unpredictability. > > I hope and/or assume that she has the smarts, memory and ability to think quickly on her feet that she can and will very effectively call him on every piece of BS that he tries. Well, he says the same shit every time. In a vacuum it would be unpredictable, but we have a whole series of ramblings that are all the same. She knows what BS is coming. There’s never a surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/34 "2024-08-09T00:25:13Z")
I’m nearly salivating at the thought of this. There is no way he walks out of this without his underwear in shreds. Once he gets the podium splinters removed from his ass he’ll find a reason not to have any more debates. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/35 "2024-08-09T00:26:51Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > He’s not just all over the place, but in the last debate, he also blatantly avoided answering questions he didn’t like by using up all his time addressing Biden’s previous response to some other question. It was like, “By the way, …” and the “by the way” took up all the time, and the question went unanswered. And then don’t forget about him using up all his time for the _next_ question, to complain about how he wasn’t allowed to answer the previous one. I’d like someone to put out a simplified breakdown of how each candidate answered each question. Mod: How can we reduce crime? Harris: better funding for education, child care, mental health Trump: Windmills kill birds Mod: Abortion? Harris: Yes Trump: Money for mental health? Why? Mod: Guns? Harris: stronger gun laws. Trump: Sharks? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/36 "2024-08-09T00:27:07Z")
I sure hope so. I really, really do. But I thought the same before the Biden debate. I think Harris will do better but there is a lurking horror I can’t dispel. Harris has got the moxie. I hope her prep team gets this one right (and the Biden prep team was fired). ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/37 "2024-08-09T00:37:38Z")
I’m going to be very angry, very angry indeed if he is allowed to walk around in front of her while she is talking, the way he dissed Hilary. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/38 "2024-08-09T00:37:38Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I have no doubt she is light years ahead of Trump on any stage. She is far, far smarter. But that will not matter if Trump just lurks behind her and has more opportunity to blather his bullshit. Maybe they should get one of those toddler harness/leash sets to keep him anchored to one side of the stage. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/39 "2024-08-09T00:40:48Z")
The rules for this debate are identical to those of the CNN debate. There will be no wandering. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2024, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440/40 "2024-08-09T00:41:43Z")
Ha! Or, maybe have some staff dressed as nurses come out and lead him back to the podium like the doddering idiot he is. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-harris-agree-to-september-10th-abc-debate-watch-along-starts-at-post-431/1005440.md?page=3)