Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) and his Republican counterpart Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) have agreed to an Oct. 1 debate on CBS in New York City.
“See you on October 1, JD,” Walz posted on X on Wednesday.
A day later, Vance similarly took to social media to announce he had also agreed to CBS’s terms but underscored his desire for a second debate between the pair.
“The American people deserve as many debates as possible, which is why President Trump has challenged Kamala to three of them already,” he wrote. “Not only do I accept the CBS debate on October 1st, I accept the CNN debate on September 18th as well. I look forward to seeing you at both!”
Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign dismissed Vance’s proposal Thursday afternoon, contending the “debate over debates is over.”
“Donald Trump’s campaign accepted our proposal for three debates — two presidential and a vice presidential debate,” Harris campaign spokesman Michael Tyler wrote Wednesday in a statement. “Assuming Donald Trump actually shows up on Sept. 10 to debate Vice President Harris, then Gov. Walz will see J.D. Vance on Oct. 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,” Tyler added. “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.”
Vance and former President Donald Trump‘s campaign were originally skeptical of negotiating a debate after Harris initially agreed to a July or August head-to-head on CBS before Trump had even named his running mate.
“Given the continued political chaos surrounding Crooked Joe Biden and the Democrat Party, general election debate details cannot be finalized until Democrats formally decide on their nominee,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung wrote last month during the Republican National Convention. “There is a strong sense by many in the Democrat Party — namely Barack Hussein Obama — that Kamala Harris is a Marxist fraud who cannot beat President Trump, and they are still holding out for someone ‘better.'”
“Therefore, it would be inappropriate to schedule things with Harris because Democrats very well could still change their minds,” Cheung continued.
Walz and Vance have traded barbs since Harris selected Walz as her second-in-command last week, particularly over insistences regarding the governor’s 24 years of service in the National Guard.
“These guys are attacking me for my record of service,” Walz told the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Convention this week in Los Angeles. “Let me be clear, I am damn proud of my service to our country. And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s record of service. To anyone brave enough to put on the uniform of our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: Thank you for your service and sacrifice.”
Harris and Trump settled on a Sept. 10 debate on ABC after their negotiations were carried on in public and private.
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“He won’t debate, but he and his running mate sure seem to have a lot to say about me,” Harris told a crowd last month in Atlanta. “Well, Donald, I do hope you’ll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage because, as the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.”
“I look forward to the debates because I think we have to set the record straight,” Trump said last week during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
