On Thursday, the Harris-Walz campaign agreed to only two of the three presidential debates proposed by President Donald Trump, and to a single vice presidential debate out of the two that JD Vance proposed to Tim Walz. Kamala Harris ultimately turned down the Fox News debate.
“The debate about debates is over. Donald Trump’s campaign accepted our proposal for three debates – two presidential and a vice presidential debate,” the Harris-Walz campaign team said in a statement. “Assuming Donald Trump actually shows up on September 10 to debate Vice President Harris, then Governor Walz will see JD Vance on October 1 and the American people will have another opportunity to see the vice president and Donald Trump on the debate stage in October.”
“Voters deserve to see the candidates for the highest office in the land share their competing visions for our future. The more they play games, the more insecure and unserious Trump and Vance reveal themselves to be to the American people. Those games end now.”
BREAKING: The Harris campaign just released a statement agreeing to participate just two of the three presidential debates President Trump challenged Kamala to and one of the two VP debates JD Vance challenged Walz to. pic.twitter.com/SRdA7hVjve
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 15, 2024
The one debate with former President Trump is scheduled for September 10 on ABC News, despite Trump’s willingness to participate in additional debates on September 4 on Fox News and September 25 on NBC News. Harris’s team clarified that she will not engage in the debates on Fox or NBC but is open to an October debate, contingent upon Trump’s participation in the September 10 event.
Trump had initially agreed to two debates with Biden, scheduled for June 27 and September 10. However, Biden resigned from the race in late July, paving the way for Democrats to unite behind Harris as their new nominee. Since then, Harris has experienced a significant surge in the polls. Key issues in the election include abortion rights, border security, immigration, climate change, the economy, education, foreign policy, healthcare, and LGBT rights.
On the vice presidential side, Minnesota Governor Walz and Senator Vance are set to debate on October 1, hosted by CBS News. Although Vance has pushed for a second debate on September 18 on CNN, the Harris campaign has confirmed that only one vice presidential debate will take place, maintaining the customary practice.
Vance expressed his strong preference for frequent debates at Thursday’s campaign event in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. “I think we ought to do as many debates as we possibly can,” Vance said. He mentioned that CNN had invited him to participate in a vice-presidential debate scheduled for mid-September. “I told my staff, agree to whatever we have to agree to, because I think it’s important, again, that you stand before the American people and actually ask for their vote, not just pretend it’s going to be given to you.”
Be careful, Tim Walz knows a thing or two about not showing up to debates https://t.co/pUtnYi17wt pic.twitter.com/jXt4Wo6d5l
— Scott Jensen (@drscottjensen) August 14, 2024
During his 2022 re-election campaign, Walz chose not to participate in a debate held on October 23, leading to renewed attention on social media. Some users are now highlighting what they see as an embarrassing moment for the Democrat by circulating a screenshot from the debate. The image shows Walz’s former Republican challenger, Scott Jensen, standing opposite an empty podium.
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