Trump slams ABC ahead of pivotal network-hosted debate: 'They’re the worst, they’re the nastiest'

Just days before the ABC News Presidential Debate, former President Trump scorched the network and some of its high-profile employees.

Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will face off for the first time on Tuesday in Philadelphia, in a debate moderated by ABC News.

But in a Friday press conference, Trump said ABC is "very hostile territory" for him, implying it will favor Harris because of her relationship with a senior executive.

"I’m going into very hostile territory shortly on a debate with ABC, George Slopodopoulos [sic] and that group. And ABC, I think, is the worst of everybody. I think they’re the worst, they’re the nastiest. They’re as bad as you can be," he said. "They’re worse than NBC, which is saying a lot."

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Trump is suing ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation after the host incorrectly said several times on air that the former president was "found liable for rape" during a March 10 interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.

On Friday, Trump also slammed other aspects of the network before the debate, saying "the reason I’m doing it is because that’s the only one that [Kamala] would do it with, because her best friend is the head of ABC or ABC News, and her husband’s best friend is married to that one."

Dana Walden, a senior Disney executive whose portfolio includes ABC News, is one of Harris' "extraordinary friends," according to a report in the New York Times. Walden and Harris have known each other since 1994, while their husbands, Matt Walden and Doug Emhoff, have known each other since the 1980s.

Trump also noted, "Donna Brazile is there. You remember the famous Donna Brazile? She gave Hillary Clinton the questions. You remember