Harris Campaign Agrees to 2 Debates After Trump Proposes 3

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waits to speak at a campaign rally at United Auto Workers Local 900 in Wayne, Mich., on Aug. 8, 2024. (Right) Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a rally at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St Cloud, Minn., on July 27, 2024. Andrew Harnik, Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris is prepared to hold no more than two debates against former President Donald Trump—one is the previously agreed to Sept. 10 showdown on ABC, and the second will take place in October at an undisclosed time and with an unspecified network, the Harris–Walz 2024 campaign said a statement.

Asserting that the “debate about debates is over,” Harris–Walz campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said in an Aug. 15 statement that the Trump campaign had accepted a proposal to hold a total of three debates—two presidential and one vice presidential.

“The American people will have another opportunity to see the vice president and Donald Trump on the debate stage in October,” Tyler wrote.

The statement was made after vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) agreed to an Oct. 1 debate in New York City on CBS against Democrat rival Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Vance also pushed for more debates.

“The American people deserve as many debates as possible, which is why President Trump has challenged Kamala to three of them already. Not only do I accept the CBS debate on Oct. 1, I accept the CNN debate on Sept. 18 as well. I look forward to seeing you at both!” Vance wrote in a post on X.

While Walz hasn’t issued a response to Vance’s proposal for a Sept. 18 debate on CNN, Tyler’s statement suggests that Harris’s running mate will partake in the one debate.

(Left) Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) speaks in Eau Claire, Wis., on Aug. 7, 2024. (Right) Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in Bloomington, Minn., on Aug. 1, 2024. Adam Bettcher/Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Like Vance, Trump has pushed for more debates against his rival, who has faced criticism for her lack of media availability since she became the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.

Trump announced on Aug. 8 that he had negotiated three dates for presidential debates against Harris on three major networks: ABC, NBC, and Fox News. At the time, the Trump campaign said that the two other dates proposed were Sept. 4 on Fox and Sept. 25 on NBC.

Harris had previously declined Trump’s proposal for a Sept. 4 debate on Fox, insisting on adhering to the Sept. 10 debate on ABC that President Joe Biden had agreed to.

When Trump debated Biden on June 27, CNN held the event in an empty Atlanta studio. Both Trump and Vance have called for any future debates to be held before a live audience.

A Trump campaign adviser had told The Epoch Times on Aug. 11 that if Harris didn’t accept the Sept. 4 and Sept. 25 debates, the former president was prepared to hold them solo in the form of town hall meetings.

“I look forward to seeing Kamala at all three debates!” Trump said in an Aug. 11 post on his social media platform, Truth Social.

The Sept. 4 Fox News event—now apparently a town hall—is to be aired live from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

On Sept. 25, NBC will host an event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Janice Hisle contributed to this story.