Vice President Kamala Harris said Saturday she was able to debate former President Donald Trump for a second time in October, ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.
Jen O'Malley Dillon, chairwoman of the campaign for Harris and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, said in a opinion that Harris has accepted CNN's invitation to a debate on October 23. That could be lower than two weeks before the election.
“I will gladly accept a second presidential debate on October 23. I hope @realDonaldTrump will be there,” Harris wrote in a X-Post.
It's not the primary time the Harris camp has suggested one other fight. Shortly after Harris and Trump had a debate moderated by ABC News earlier this month, O'Malley Dillon said Harris was ready for a second round against him. But with Harris raising tens of millions of dollars within the campaign, Trump declined to run against her again.
In a post on the Trump Media & Technology Group On the social network Truth Social, the Republican presidential candidate stated that there could be “no third debate.”
On Saturday, a Trump campaign spokesman referred to CNBC's post on “Truth Social” about there not being a 3rd debate.
“She's had one debate,” Trump said Saturday at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina. “I've had two. It's too late for another one. I'd love to in many ways, but it's too late. The votes are cast.”
The first debate of 2024 pitted Trump against incumbent President Joe Biden. CNN broadcast the event in June, but Biden struggled on the controversy stage. Democratic donors raised concerns about Biden's prospects, and Democratic members of Congress called on Biden to desert his campaign. In August, Harris accepted the presidential nomination on the Democratic National Convention.
“Donald Trump should have no problem agreeing to this debate,” O'Malley Dillon wrote in her statement. “It has the same format and structure as the CNN debate he attended in June and said he won by praising CNN's moderators, rules and ratings.”
REGARD: Harris won the controversy but had no influence on voters' decisions, says Libby Cantrill of Pimco
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