Fox News Media has sent formal letters to the Trump and Harris campaigns proposing its own debate in September. Given the race has changed, we’d like to request the opportunity to host a Presidential Debate between VP Harris and former President Trump.
Fox News Media has sent formal letters to both the Trump and Harris campaigns proposing its own debate in September. The letters, signed by Fox News Media President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace and Fox News Vice President of Politics Jessica Loker, were sent on Wednesday.
"Now that Vice President Kamala Harris is the presumptive Democratic nominee, FOX News Media is amending our proposal for a debate this cycle," the letters stated. "Given the race has changed, we’d like to request the opportunity to host a Presidential Debate between VP Harris and former President Trump."
Fox News Proposes Presidential Debate Between Trump and Harris
The letters propose that the debate be held in the state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, September 17, just as early voting is getting underway there and in other key battlegrounds. Fox News is open to discussion on the exact date, format and location — with or without an audience.
"Again, we believe Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, the faces of our political coverage, are the best choices to moderate," Wallace and Loker continued.
Fox News Proposes Presidential Debate Between Trump and Harris
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
The proposal comes after Fox News Channel has seen a dramatic surge in viewership following last month's presidential debate, trouncing all other news networks as the dramatic 2024 election cycle unfolds.
Fox News Proposes Presidential Debate Between Trump and Harris
From the June 27 debate through July 21, Fox News averaged a whopping four million total weeknight primetime viewers, crushing MSNBC and CNN's viewership combined. MSNBC averaged just 1.3 million viewers during that same time period, while CNN trailed with only 1.1 million viewers.
Fox News also bested the primetime viewership of the broadcast networks, which historically have larger audiences than cable options. NBC averaged three million total viewers during the same time period, while ABC averaged 2.6 million viewers and CBS averaged 2.3 million viewers.
Fox News Proposes Presidential Debate Between Trump and Harris
Additionally, Fox News crushed its cable rivals among viewers in the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54. Fox News averaged 583,000 weeknight primetime viewers in the key demo, while CNN landed just an average of 311,000 demo viewers and MSNBC struggled with a dismal average of only 141,000.
Fox News maintained its dominance when including its weekend primetime viewership, averaging 3.6 million viewers for the entire week as breaking news occurred to beat MSNBC and CNN combined in that category, too.
Fox News has become the country's most-watched news network since the CNN Presidential debate, where President Biden's disastrous debate performance shocked the nation and ultimately led to his exit from the 2024 race.
Also occurring since the debate was the assassination attempt of former President Trump; the Republican National Committee convention in Milwaukee, where Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, was selected as Trump's running mate; and Vice President Kamala Harris being swiftly made the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Fox News Media's proposal for a debate between Trump and Harris comes as the race for the 2024 presidency heats up. The two candidates have been trading barbs in recent weeks, and a debate would give them a chance to directly confront each other on the issues.
It remains to be seen whether either Trump or Harris will accept Fox News Media's proposal. However, the network's high viewership numbers make it a tempting platform for the candidates to reach out to voters.
