President Donald Trump leveled a demeaning personal attack against former Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday, calling her “half a person” while revisiting the contentious presidential debate the two shared on Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia — remarks that came amid ongoing speculation about a potential Harris 2028 White House bid.
Trump Revisits the 2024 Debate Stage
Speaking with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump reached back to the September 2024 debate to relitigate a matchup that much of the political world scored against him. The president trained his fire on the debate’s moderators, ABC News journalists David Muir and Linsey Davis, dismissing Muir as “that loser from ABC” and describing Davis as “an unknown woman” and “a radical left person.” Trump insisted the setup had stacked the odds against him, characterizing the encounter as feeling like “two and a half against one.”
He then turned the insult directly on Harris herself. Trump claimed he faced “two people plus a half” on that Philadelphia stage — with Harris, he explained, counting as the fractional opponent. The former vice president, Trump declared, “is the half.” The remarks were aired publicly and drew immediate attention online, with clips circulating widely across social media platforms.
Numerous analysts, commentators, and pollsters declared Harris the winner of that September 2024 showdown. Trump, however, has consistently pushed back on that assessment. Speaking to Fox News the day after the debate, Trump said that when a fighter loses they ask for a rematch, but since he won the debate, he didn’t know if he wanted another one. True to those words, Trump declined to meet Harris on a debate stage a second time, leaving the Sept. 10, 2024, bout as their only head-to-head encounter of that campaign.
Trump Eyes the 2028 Debate Stage — as Moderator
In a striking pivot during the same interview, Trump floated the idea of moderating a future presidential debate himself. The president expressed enthusiasm for the prospect, telling Hewitt, “I’d love to do it.” Trump added that he believed the Democratic Party would not exactly welcome the arrangement but said he was confident in his drawing power, noting he “gets good numbers.”
Hewitt amplified the idea shortly after the interview wrapped, posting on X that Trump moderating one or more of the 2028 Republican presidential primary debates would likely generate ratings double or triple those of previous primary debate broadcasts. The radio host framed it as a straightforward opportunity for GOP candidates to reach a massive audience.
The suggestion is unlikely to find a warm reception among debate organizers or Democratic-leaning networks, but Trump’s track record of dominating media attention makes it impossible to dismiss out of hand. Whether any major network or party committee would hand Trump a moderator’s microphone remains to be seen.
Harris Keeps 2028 Plans an Open Question
Trump’s pointed commentary about Harris comes as political observers continue to pay attention to whether the former vice president intends to mount another run for the presidency. Speculation about a 2028 Harris campaign has been ramping up, fueled in part by her own carefully ambiguous public statements.
In a February conversation with podcaster Sharon McMahon, Harris offered little in the way of a firm answer when pressed on her political future. She told McMahon she had not made up her mind, leaving open the distinct possibility of a return to the national stage. “I haven’t decided,” she said. “I might.”
Those measured words have done little to quiet the speculation. Her public profile has remained high as she comments on policy and political developments. Whether Trump’s latest broadside is intended to pre-emptively diminish a potential 2028 rival or simply reflects his habit of relitigating past political battles is unclear — but the timing, with the 2028 campaign conversation already taking shape, is unlikely to be lost on anyone watching.
A Rivalry That Refuses to Fade
The president and Harris continue to occupy considerable real estate in each other’s public rhetoric. Trump won the presidency and has governed from the White House since his Jan. 20, 2025, inauguration, yet he returns with some regularity to the 2024 campaign trail, replaying grievances and reasserting narratives about his performance against Harris.
For Harris, the question of what comes next remains unanswered — at least publicly. But with a sitting president already sharpening attacks that sound less like retrospective score-settling and more like opposition research, the former vice president may find that the decision about her political future is becoming harder to defer.