US vice presidential candidates agree to a televised duel in October.
The date for the first televised debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump has been set. Now, their vice presidents are also agreeing to a TV duel in early October. Meanwhile, the dispute over further encounters between the presidential candidates continues to simmer.
The U.S. vice presidential candidates, Tim Walz and J.D. Vance, have both agreed to a TV duel on October 1st. "See you on October 1st, JD," Walz, Harris' "running mate," wrote on X as early as Wednesday. Vance, who wants to move into the White House with presidential candidate Donald Trump, has now accepted the date.
The sender CBS News had invited the two vice candidates to a debate in New York and offered four dates - two in September and two in October. The U.S. presidential election is on November 5th.
Vance also offered to participate in a further debate on September 18th with the sender CNN. The American people deserve as many debates as possible, he wrote on X, which is why Trump has also proposed several dates for his duel against Harris.
Harris' team: "The debate about debates is over"
The presidential candidates Trump and Harris, on the other hand, want to face each other in a TV duel in September. The organizing television station ABC had announced that the Republican and the Democrat had both agreed to a date on September 10th (local time/September 11th CEST).
Trump had proposed two more dates for debates with Harris in September. However, Harris' campaign team has now rejected this and instead offered an additional debate between Harris and Trump in October - without naming a specific date. "The debate about debates is over," explained Michael Tyler, the communications director of the Harris campaign. The games have ended.
However, it remains to be seen whether this is really the case. Harris and Trump have been engaged in a public tug-of-war over their TV debates for weeks and are accusing each other of ducking out of further dates out of fear of the other.
Harris' predecessor in the presidential race, Joe Biden, had made his TV duel against Trump in late June a debacle. Biden's weak performance strengthened the internal party pressure to withdraw from the candidacy and fueled a downward trend that ultimately led to the 81-year-old's withdrawal in favor of his vice president. Therefore, the upcoming televised debates are being watched with particular interest, as their framework conditions and rules must be confirmed by both sides.
Despite the ongoing discussions about additional debates, Harris' team has stated, "The debate about debates is over." However, I'm not going to engage in any more debates, indicating a potential refusal to participate in further meetings.
It's worth noting that Harris has not ruled out future debates entirely, but her team seems to be trying to put an end to the current negotiations.
