Former RNC Chair Says Donald Trump 'Afraid' of Kamala Harris

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Michael Steele said on Sunday that Donald Trump is "afraid" to face Vice President Kamala Harris in a presidential debate, criticizing the former president's recent debate strategy and public speaking abilities.

Speaking on MSNBC's The Weekend with Symone D. Sanders, Steele, a Trump critic and co-host of the program, offered a pointed analysis of Trump's announcement to participate in a Fox News debate with Harris, rather than the previously scheduled ABC News debate on September 10.

"The reality of it is, he's afraid," Steele said. "He's afraid of the Black woman who's now running for president because he don't know how to handle that. He don't know what to do with that and so he tried to break it down. He tries to make it less valuable than it really is."

He added: "After all of these years Trump cannot use a teleprompter. Can't talk for ish on a teleprompter," Steele remarked. "So, if she's at a 6, baby, you barely hitting 0. So, let's start with that. And he slurs his words."

President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on July 21 following weeks of interparty fighting among Democrats on whether he should pass the torch to the next generation after his debate fiasco against Trump in late June in Atlanta. Biden also endorsed Harris the day he withdrew from the race and she is now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee who will likely go up against Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, in November.

Sanders, another co-host of The Weekend and a former senior adviser to Harris, echoed Steele's sentiments and said, "The vice president was a prosecutor, a senator. She's a vice president of America. Like, come on."

The debate controversy stems from Trump's recent announcement on Truth Social, his social media platform, where he declared his acceptance of a September 4 debate to be moderated by Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. Trump specified that the debate would feature a "full arena audience" and rules similar to the June 27 CNN debate between him and Biden.

Steven Cheung, Trump's campaign communications director, previously said in a July 25 statement to Newsweek that it "would be inappropriate to schedule things with Harris because Democrats very well could still change their minds."

In his Truth Social post, Trump addressed the unexpected change in the Democratic lineup, referring to it as an "unconstitutional" replacement and a "threat to democracy," following Biden's decision to end his reelection campaign. Despite his strong words, Trump stated his willingness to "accept the results of this 'coup,'" and debate Harris instead of Biden.

"As everyone knows, the Democrats have Unconstitutionally taken a Candidate, who was acknowledged to be defeated, and unceremoniously replaced him with a new Candidate," the former president wrote. "This has never been done before, and is a Threat to Democracy, but I am totally prepared to accept the results of this 'coup,' and replace Joe on the Debate stage with Crazy Kamala Harris."

He continued" "I spent Hundreds of Millions of Dollars, Time, and Effort fighting Joe, and when I won the Debate, they threw a new Candidate into the ring. Not fair, but it is what it is!"

Newsweek has contacted Trump's and Harris' campaign via email on Sunday for further comment.

The former president also emphasized the timing of his proposed debate, stating, "This date is convenient and appropriate in that it is just prior to the September 6th start of Early Voting in the 2024 Presidential Election."

Trump's announcement has been met with skepticism and criticism from Harris' campaign team. Michael Tyler, Harris' campaign communications director, accused Trump in a previous email to Newsweek of "running scared and trying to back out of the debate he already agreed to and running straight to Fox News to bail him out."

Steele reminded viewers during Sunday's panel discussion that "there will be no Fox debate. There is an ABC debate, Donald, not a Fox debate."