CNN
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After Vice President Kamala Harris accused former President Donald Trump of “backsliding” during the debates, the Trump campaign said Thursday that he would not participate in any upcoming debates until the Democratic Party formally selects its nominee.
President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the Democratic nomination on Sunday has thrown previous debate plans into doubt. The Biden and Trump campaigns had agreed to a debate hosted by ABC on September 10, but it's unclear whether it will go ahead as scheduled.
“I've agreed to the Sept. 10 debate, which we previously agreed to, and he previously agreed to,” Harris told reporters after arriving at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday. “Now it seems like he's backed away. But I'm ready. I think voters deserve to see a split screen of this race on the debate stage, so I'm ready. Let's get started.”
Trump campaign communications director Steven Chang said in a statement late Thursday that because Harris is only the party's presumptive nominee, “it is entirely possible that Democrats could change their mind, and so it would be inappropriate to schedule a meeting with her.”
Harris quickly fired back on social media: “What happened to 'Anytime, Anywhere'?,” she said in a post to X.
Democratic delegates are scheduled to virtually vote to confirm Harris as the party's nominee by Aug. 7. Trump, meanwhile, formally won the GOP nomination at the Republican National Convention last week.
Trump told reporters earlier this week that he would like to debate Harris but that nothing has been agreed upon yet.
“I haven't agreed to anything. I've just agreed to debate Joe Biden,” Trump said at a news conference. “But I would love to debate her. She has the same policies, so it's no different. I really think debates are important in a presidential election. I have an obligation to debate.”
Biden's withdrawal from the race came just weeks after his disastrous performance in last month's CNN debate. Biden endorsed Harris shortly after she announced her support, and she quickly garnered enough delegate support to win the Democratic presidential nomination. Though those endorsements are nonbinding, Harris remains the front-runner to succeed Biden.
Harris declined to say Thursday whether she would be willing to take part in another debate hosted by Fox News. Before Biden dropped out of the race, Harris was poised to face off on the debate stage against Trump's running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio. In a brief call earlier this month, both candidates said they looked forward to debating but gave no specifics about when it might take place, CNN previously reported.
As Vance noted earlier this week while campaigning in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, it is now clear that the debate plans aren't going ahead after all.
“I was told I was going to be debating Kamala Harris and now I'm debating President Trump,” Vance joked. “I'm kind of pissed, to be honest with you.”
The headline on this story has been updated.
CNN's Kristen Holmes, Steve Contorno and Kit Maher contributed to this report.
