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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at an event in Jacksonville, Florida on May 1, 2024.
CNN
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Vice President Kamala Harris has agreed to debate Donald Trump's future running mate, a Biden campaign official told CNN on Thursday.
The Biden campaign told CBS News it has accepted the network's invitation to participate in the vice presidential debate in studio on one of two dates proposed by the network: July 23 or August 13.
“We are hopeful that the Trump campaign will accept one of these dates and be able to set up the campaign's full debate calendar,” the official added.
The proposed July 23 date comes less than a week after the end of the Republican convention in Milwaukee, leaving President Trump's running mate limited to preparing for the debate with Harris. Time will be given.
CNN asked the Trump campaign if it would agree to have its running mate participate.
On Friday, President Trump announced on his “Truth Social” platform that his campaign had accepted the future vice presidential candidate's invitation to a debate hosted by Fox News, and called on Harris to do the same.
However, the Biden campaign pointed to the fact that Harris had already accepted the invitation from CBS, indicated that Harris would not participate in the FOX debate, and told CNN that Biden campaign manager Jenn Harris had already accepted the invitation from CBS. -Referenced O'Malley Dillon's previous statement.
O'Malley Dillon said the presidential and vice presidential debates were “the broadcasting organization that hosted the 2016 Republican primary debate, which included Donald Trump, and the 2020 Democratic primary debate, which included President Biden. It should be hosted by the government.” Sponsoring organizations can argue that it is clearly unacceptable. ” The Democratic National Committee said that Fox News will not host Democratic primary debates during the 2020 election cycle, citing a report in The New Yorker about the mutually beneficial relationship between Fox and the Trump administration.
President Trump said in an interview aired Thursday that there is a “very good chance” he will announce his running mate at the party's convention in Milwaukee.
“I can't say anything is 100%, but it's pretty close. We'll do it in Milwaukee,” he told TMJ4 News.
Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son and a champion of his father's choice of Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his vice presidential running mate, told senators on Thursday: “You should choose sooner rather than later. I wanted it to be presented to the world correctly.” now. ”
Trump Jr. was speaking on the podcast “Triggered.” Mr. Vance indicated that he would accept the job if the former president called him.
The senator told Trump Jr., “I want to help your father in any way I can. Of course I would help your father if he asked me to.”
President Joe Biden and President Trump on Wednesday accepted an invitation from CNN for a June 27 debate, a historically early showdown that will set the tone for the final months of the 2024 campaign. They also agreed to hold a debate on ABC News on September 10th.
Informal conversations between the Biden and Trump campaigns over the debate have taken place in recent weeks, mostly focusing on mutual disdain for the Commission on Presidential Debates and potential scenarios for circumventing the commission. three sources familiar with the discussions earlier told CNN.
For millions of Americans, this debate will be the most extensive scrutiny of candidates and their running mates since the debates leading up to the 2020 election.
Harris has become a key figure in the Biden administration and campaign this year, traveling the country to make points that the president, an older white man, might find difficult to make himself.
Her efforts include serving as the administration's voice on abortion rights, becoming the first sitting president or vice president to visit an abortion provider, and visiting states like Florida and Arizona where new court decisions and laws have cast doubt on the future of abortion access there.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN's Betsy Klein, michael williams and Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.
