Vice President Kamala Harris is making plans to appear for the Sept. 10 debate on ABC News, even if Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump is a no-show, according to a source familiar with her plans.
The Harris campaign's understanding, the unnamed source told CNN, is that ABC will provide the airtime that has been set aside for the debate for whichever candidate shows up, and she'll use that time herself if Trump isn't there to debate her.
ABC News has not commented on the debate or any contingency plans, CNN noted.
Trump said Friday he's agreed to participate in a Fox News-hosted debate on Sept. 4, and would not participate in the ABC debate because he'd agreed to that debate when President Joe Biden was still the Democrats' presumptive presidential nominee.
Saturday he suggested he would not debate with her at all unless she agreed to the Fox News event.
Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler accused Trump of "running scared" and said he should "stop playing games" regarding the debate.
"The vice president will be there one way or the other to take the opportunity to speak to a prime-time national audience," Tyler said, adding that her campaign will be "happy to discuss further debates after the one both campaigns have already agreed to."