Vice President Kamala Harris has announced that she is prepared to engage in a maximum of two debates with former President Donald Trump. The first debate, scheduled for September 10, has been agreed upon and will be broadcasted on ABC. The second debate will take place in October, the exact date and network are yet to be disclosed, according to a statement from the HarrisWalz 2024 campaign.
In an August 15 statement, Michael Tyler, the spokesperson for the HarrisWalz campaign, declared that the debate over debates has come to a conclusion. He revealed that the Trump campaign has accepted a proposal to hold a total of three debates, two presidential debates, and one vice presidential debate. Tyler emphasized that the American people will have another opportunity to witness the vice president and Donald Trump engage on the debate stage in October.
Vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) has also agreed to a debate on October 1 in New York City against his Democratic rival, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Vance has been advocating for additional debates. While Walz has not responded to Vance’s proposal for a September 18 debate on CNN, Tyler’s statement suggests that Harris’s running mate will participate in at least one debate.
Like Vance, Trump has expressed his desire for more debates with his rival, who has faced criticism for her limited media availability since becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. Harris had previously turned down Trump’s proposal for a September 4 debate on Fox, remaining committed to the September 10 debate on ABC that was agreed upon by President Joe Biden.
During the debate between Trump and Biden on June 27, CNN hosted the event in an empty Atlanta studio. Both Trump and Vance have called for future debates to be held in front of a live audience. The September 4 Fox News event, which now appears to be a town hall, will be broadcasted live from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. On September 25, NBC will host an event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.