(NewsNation) — Former Trump White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci and Democratic political strategist James Carville agree that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump needs to debate Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris to stand a chance in the 2024 election.
Trump proposed debating Harris on Fox News on Sept. 4, but the Harris campaign countered that Trump is “running scared,” trying to back out of a previously scheduled ABC debate.
If Trump and Harris can’t come to an agreement, the former president will “get destroyed by the Democrats and independents,” Scaramucci said Monday on “CUOMO.”
“Imagine the self-emasculation of him calling her a ‘DEI hire’, and then he can’t bring himself to a debate stage,” Scaramucci said. “Somebody on his staff is going to tell him, ‘You got to show up at that debate.'”
Carville suggested Harris take the Fox debate pitch, but to do so Sept. 18, the same day as Trump’s “hush money” sentencing in Manhattan.
“If Trump doesn’t debate her (Harris), if he backs out, the Democrats are just going to be brutal and relentless about him being scared to debate a girl.”
Harris on Friday secured the required number of votes for the nomination. The achievement came less than two weeks after President Joe Biden announced he would no longer seek the nomination and endorsed Harris for the role.
“Donald Trump is running scared and trying to back out of the debate he already agreed to and running straight to Fox News to bail him out,” Harris campaign Communications Director Michael Tyler wrote in an official statement. “He needs to stop playing games and show up to the debate he already committed to on Sept 10. The vice president will be there one way or the other to take the opportunity to speak to a prime time national audience.”
NewsNation’s Katie Smith contributed to this report.