Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he will debate Vice President Kamala Harris just days after he claimed she recently "turned black".
Trump's statement came right after the Democratic National Committee launched an advertising campaign taunting him by saying "the convicted felon is afraid to debate" and questioning whether that is due to his stance on abortion.
On his Truth Social page, he said: "Rules will be similar to the rules of my debate with Sleepy Joe, who has been treated horribly by his party, but with a full arena audience."
Harris's campaign said it did not have a comment.
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to face off against Trump
Reuters
After President Biden dropped out of the race on July 21 and backed Harris, Trump said he would not debate her because she was not the official candidate. Yesterday, Harris secured the delegate votes needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.
Trump's post was removed for a few minutes before being reposted, with Trump deleting his proposal for a "major" town hall gathering on the same date if Harris was "unwilling or unable to debate".
Harris had responded last month that she was "ready" after Fox News proposed the presidential debate between the two candidates on September 17.
Trump said the debate would take place in the battleground state of Pennsylvania with a "full arena audience." The first and only debate this year between Trump and Biden had no in-house audience.
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Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump smiles while speaking on a panel of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ)
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It comes just days after Trump falsely suggested to the country's largest annual gathering of Black journalists that Vice President Harris had previously downplayed her Black heritage.
Trump said: "She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black, until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black.
"So I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black?...But you know what, I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn, and she went - she became a Black person."
Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican heritage, has long self-identified as both Black and Asian. She is the first Black person and Asian American person to serve as vice president.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to ABC News reporter Rachel Scott
Reuters
Trump's comments was met with some backlash from senior Republican politicians.
Senator Steve Daines of Montana, the GOP campaign chief said: "I think the better approach is to focus on the policies of Kamala Harris - that’s what I’ve been talking about."
Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri told reporters it was "not a great idea for either of the parties to be playing racial identity politics."
Thom Tillis, the North Carolina senator, said he "clearly didn’t like what he heard from Trump."
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro
Reuters
At the same conference, Trump defended his record with the black community. ABC News reporter Rachel Scott, one of three Black women moderators, listed a series of racist comments Trump had made and asked why Black voters should support him.
In response, Trump called the question "horrible," "hostile" and a "disgrace" and described ABC as a "fake" network.
He said: "I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln" which was met with some groans from the audience.