US election: Donald Trump suggests he may back out of TV debate against Kamala Harris
Donald Trump has suggested he might back out of a scheduled debate with rival presidential hopeful Kamala Harris – as he says the network it is scheduled to be on is “hostile” to Republicans.
Speaking inside a Vietnamese restaurant in Virginia, Trump said he watched ABC’s This Week on Sunday and did not like how how Republican senator Tom Cotton was treated.
“When I looked at the hostility of that, I said, ‘Why am I doing it? Let’s do it with another network’,” Mr Trump told reporters.
He said he would “much rather do it on NBC” or another network, including CBS, CNN and “certainly I’d do it on Fox”.
Mr Trump said he was “still thinking” about whether he wanted to take part at all, saying the Harris campaign wanted to “change the rules” around the debate.
Discussions around the debate between the two candidates have hit an impasse. Pics: AP
Negotiations over the head-to-head have hit an impasse over the issue of “hot” microphones, which would pick up any comments, regardless of whose turn it was to speak.
It had been previously agreed they would be muted, to prevent the candidates talking over one another.
Harris campaign spokesman Brian Fallon alleged that Trump’s aides prefer that the candidates’ microphones are muted “because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own”.
“The vice president is ready to deal with Trump’s constant lies and interruptions in real time,” he added. “Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button.”
But the Trump campaign has hit back with conflicting statements – with the candidate himself saying he wanted them on, while his team said they did not.
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Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller said that both campaigns had already agreed to the debate rules, which he said mirrored the same ones used during the June CNN debate between Trump and President Joe Biden. That debate used muted microphones, at the request of the Biden campaign.
But asked if he wants the microphones muted at the debate, Mr Trump said: “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter to me. I’d rather have it probably on, but the agreement was it would be the same as it was last time. In that case, it was muted.”
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The disagreement over the rules also comes after a Trump post on social media on Sunday night, where he wrote: “[W]hy would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?”
NBC News spokesman Stephen Labaton said the network has been and is engaged with both the Trump and Harris campaigns about the possibility of hosting a debate.
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Mr Trump had previously refused to debate Ms Harris unless it was on Fox News, before climbing down from his position and saying he would face her in three separate debates.
So far, only the ABC debate has been confirmed.
Donald Trump has waded into the debate surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s jeans ad.
The American Eagle ad, which features the 27-year-old actress, who starred in the HBO series Euphoria and White Lotus, has the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”.
It has sparked a debate in the US over race and Western beauty standards.
One of the Sydney Sweeney jeans ads. Pic: AP
In a Truth Social post, the US president described it as the “hottest ad out there”.
Hailing Sweeney as a “registered Republican”, he said the jeans are “flying off the shelves”, adding: “Go get ’em Sydney!”
Most of the criticism of the ad has centred on videos using the word “genes” instead of “jeans”, with one in which Sweeney says: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.”
Critics argued the play on words potentially promotes eugenics, a discredited theory that believed humanity could be improved through the selective breeding of certain traits.
But others have defended the ad, saying the critics are reading too much into its message.
The video appeared on American Eagle’s Facebook page and other social media channels, but is not part of the ad campaign.
In a statement on Instagram on Friday, American Eagle Outfitters said the campaign “is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
Stocks in American Eagle Outfitters jumped by 23.3% after Mr Trump’s intervention.
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In his Truth Social post, which he reposted three times to fix various typos, Mr Trump compared the ad with “woke” ones “on the other side of the ledger” – as he criticised other companies, as well as hitting out at Taylor Swift.
“The tide has seriously turned – Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be,” he wrote.
Sky News has contacted Sweeney’s agent for comment.
Police in Tennessee have discovered 14 improvised explosive devices in a man’s home as they were arresting him, the local sheriff’s office said.
Officers were executing a warrant in the home of Kevin Wade O’Neal in Old Fort, about 45 miles (70km) east of Chattanooga, after he had threatened to kill public officials and law enforcement personnel in Polk County.
After arresting the 54-year-old, officers noticed “something smouldering” in the bedroom where he was found.
Kevin Wade O’Neal. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
On closer inspection, they discovered an improvised explosive device and evacuated the house until bomb squad officers arrived at the scene.
Fourteen devices were found inside the property – none of which detonated.
Improvised explosive devices were found in Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home in Old Fort, Tennessee. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
O’Neal was charged with 11 counts of attempted first-degree murder, corresponding to nine officers and two other people inside the property when the suspect tried to detonate the devices.
He also faces 14 counts of prohibited weapons and one count of possession of explosive components.
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O’Neal is being held at the Polk County jail and his bond is yet to be determined.
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