Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has issued a word of caution to Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of her upcoming debate with former President Donald Trump, urging her to not underestimate the former president’s debating skills, Fox News reports.
In an interview with CNN on Monday, Pritzker acknowledged Trump’s history of winning debates, citing his victories against both President Biden and Hillary Clinton.
“I don’t think anybody should underestimate Donald Trump,” Pritzker said, adding that “he has a won a couple of debates that he did.”
While acknowledging Harris’ “tremendous” communication abilities and capabilities, Pritzker emphasized the need for careful preparation.
“We shouldn’t be thinking that somehow Kamala Harris has a greater ability to win a debate than Donald Trump,” he said.
He described the upcoming debate as a clash between “significant rivals with very, very different points of view.”
The debate, hosted by ABC News, is scheduled for September 10. Tensions surrounding the event have heightened as the Harris campaign has pushed to change the debate rules, particularly regarding the use of microphones during the opponent’s speaking time. Initially, the campaign agreed to follow the guidelines established for the June CNN debate between Trump and Biden, which included muted mics during the opposing candidate’s turn.
However, the Harris campaign has since backtracked and refused to sign off on the agreed-upon rules.
