Harris-Walz Campaign Say No to Additional Debates Pitched By Trump: Debate ‘Games End Now’
(AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
The Harris-Walz campaign has poured cold water on the idea of participating in any more Presidential or Vice Presidential debates further than what was initially agreed to.
In a statement released by Michael Tyler, Communications Director for Harris-Walz 2024, the Harris-Watz Campaign said that the “debates about debates are over” and made clear that it would not participate in any other debate apart from the three previously agreed-upon debates: “two presidential and a vice presidential debate.”
In May of this year, the Trump and Biden campaigns agreed on two presidential debates. The first, hosted by CNN, occurred in late June. The second, hosted by ABC News, is set for September 10th. A third, Vice Presidential debate, is set for early October to be hosted by CBS.
Since then, former President Donald Trump has initially backed out of the ABC News debate, then offered an ultimatum that he would only participate if Vice President Kamala Harris agreed to other debates. He also claimed that he has “agreed with” Fox News to participate in a debate they had offered for September 17th, though he claimed he would do it on Sept. 4th. Fox News has not publically commented on this debate following their initial letter. Trump also claimed that another NBC News-hosted debate would occur in late September, but nothing material emerged.
Vice President Kamala Harris has surged in the polls since she became the presumptive nominee roughly three and a half weeks ago. She has earned some reasonable criticism for not participating in press conferences or sitting for a difficult interview. Trump’s eagerness for more debates is perhaps evidence that the Trump-Vance campaign sees a lot of ground to gain since polling turned against them.
Harris-Walz 2024 Statement on Debates
The following is a statement from Michael Tyler, Communications Director for Harris-Walz 2024, on the upcoming presidential and vice presidential debates:
“The debate about debates is over. Donald Trump’s campaign accepted our proposal for three debates — two presidential and a vice presidential debate. Assuming Donald Trump actually shows up on September 10 to debate Vice President Harris, then Governor Walz will see JD Vance on October 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. 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.”
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