HARRISBURG, Pa. — Should former President Donald Trump debate Vice President Kamala Harris, now that she's the presumptive Democratic nominee for president?
That's what I asked Trump fans as they rallied for him Wednesday in Harrisburg, capital of swing-state Pennsylvania. Everyone I spoke to wanted to see Trump take on Harris. They were certain he'd come out a winner, even as they echoed his everlasting claims of unfair treatment.
Trump, who committed in May to a Sept. 10 debate hosted by ABC News, now won't say if he'll show up. That was planned as a debate with President Joe Biden, who dropped his bid for a second term 12 days ago and endorsed Harris.
Trump is now complaining about the host network, claiming that ABC News won't be fair to him. He ratcheted that up Wednesday, again attacking the network while speaking in racist terms about Harris during an appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists' convention.
The Trump supporters I spoke to Wednesday predicted that Harris will perform better than Biden, who had a calamitous debate performance against Trump in June that helped contribute to his decision to leave the race. But, again, they leaned into Trump's ill-defined grievances about unfair treatment to predict more of the same.
Those supporters were also – mostly – behind Trump's decision to pick U.S. Sen. JD Vance as his running mate, despite the rocky rollout for the Ohio Republican........