Politics

‘Don’t Let Her Get A Tailwind’: Kayleigh McEnany Advises Trump To Debate Kamala Harris Immediately

Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden at the June 27, 2024 presidential debate. (Screen Capture/CSPAN)

Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany advised Republican nominee Donald Trump on Monday to challenge Vice President Kamala Harris to several three debates in the near future.

McEnany said Trump’s biggest challenge in the 2024 election cycle will be getting Harris to speak without a teleprompter and bringing her out of the liberal media’s “coverup mode.” The former press secretary called on the former president to “not wait” until the Democratic National Convention to challenge Harris to their first debate.

“[T]he press doesn’t want her to do any sit-downs,” McEnany said. “They’re in coverup mode. If this were Trump, there would be in the corner of your screen on every major liberal network, a countdown or count-up rather of how many days, how many hours he’s gone without a free willing interviewing or press conference. It’s outrageous, it’s in the interest of the press to ask for this, but they’re not doing so because they flipped the script. Now it’s coverup mode for Kamala.”

“She cannot handle a free-wheeling scenario, there’s no doubt about it. And it’s the job of Trump to get her off the teleprompter,” McEnany continued. “I’ve said the challenge of this cycle was going to be smoking Biden out of this metaphorical basement. The basement became the Oval Office. Now the challenge for Trump is getting her off the teleprompter. That’s why he should challenge her to three debates and do not wait. Do not wait until after the DNC. Because a third of this 100 day period will be over. Don’t let her get the tailwind. Debate this week, hey, debate this week. Next week.”

Former WH press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says Trump should challenge Kamala Harris to three debates in the near future pic.twitter.com/b6LdRtosmJ

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 5, 2024

Harris has not sat down for a single interview since the launch of her presidential campaign on July 21. The vice president has instead participated in several campaign rallies rather than media appearances following a 2021 interview with Lester Holt where she claimed to have been to the U.S.-Mexico border, according to Semafor.

Trump agreed on Saturday to participate in a Sept. 4 debate hosted by Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. The debate was initially going to be hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10 between Trump and President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the race following his disastrous debate performance on June 27.

Michael Tyler, Harris’ campaign communications director, accused Trump of being “too scared” to show up to the original debate and instead rely on Fox News “to bail him out,” according to NBC News.

(Featured image credit: Screen Capture/CSPAN)