States Newsroom has learned that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will launch a confrontational digital advertising campaign in swing states starting Friday in Atlanta to encourage Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to debate Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic nominee.
Trump has not committed to a debate with Harris. Harris has said she is committed to keeping the September 10 debate date negotiated before she entered the race.
The ads, which will appear on the websites of major newspapers in the swing states where Trump is campaigning – starting with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution – accuse the former president of being “afraid of a debate with Harris,” according to a DNC press release.
The DNC plans to replicate the Atlanta ads on the websites of other major newspapers in swing states when Trump campaigns there. Typically, the ads would run the day of a Trump campaign rally, but the first ads in Atlanta will run for two days, Friday and Saturday, before Trump appears there on Saturday, a DNC spokesman said.
The unusual ad buy highlights parts of Trump’s record that Democrats have emphasized throughout the campaign, including a conservative policy blueprint called “Project 2025” that calls for a nationwide abortion ban and the 34 charges against Trump in New York state sentenced in May.
“Trump is a convicted felon whose Project 2025 would ban abortion nationwide,” reads a banner leaked to States Newsroom before its launch. “No wonder he’s afraid of debate.”
Trump and his campaign have sought to distance the candidate from Project 2025, launched by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, but have not presented a comprehensive policy document to replace it.
Debate about debates
Trump agreed to two debates in May with President Joe Biden, then the presumptive Democratic nominee. But weeks after Biden’s penniless performance in the first, on 27 JuneThe incumbent dropped out of the race and supported Harris as his successor at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump campaign, said in a July 25 statement that Trump’s agreement to a Sept. 10 debate after Biden’s withdrawal did not necessarily apply because the Democratic nomination was still not decided.
Harris is the only candidate for the Democratic nomination, which will be finalized during a virtual vote of Democratic delegates that began Thursday. She is expected to accept the Democratic nomination at the party’s convention in Chicago this month.
The ads represent an escalation of the Democrats’ pressure campaign to put Trump on the stage for a debate with Harris.
At their own rally in Atlanta on Wednesday, hours after Trump made an unfounded comment about Harris’ racial identity, Harris challenged the former president to debate with her.
“Donald, I really hope you reconsider joining me on the debate stage,” she said. “Because as the saying goes, if you have something to say, say it to my face.”
The debate was scheduled to air on ABC on September 10, with ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis as moderators. Further details, including the location, were expected to be announced closer to the date.
Democrats have stated that Harris will participate in the debate regardless of whether Trump attends the debate or not.
“No matter where Trump stands on September 10, voters know where he stands,” DNC communications director Rosemary Boeglin said in a written statement. “Meanwhile, Vice President Harris will be on the debate stage to show America the way forward – and give voters a chance to reject Trump’s MAGA extremism once and for all.”
