Vice President Harris has accepted a CNN invitation to appear in the second debate with former President Trump next month, her campaign announced Saturday.
“Vice President Harris is eager for another opportunity to share the stage with Donald Trump and has accepted CNN's invitation to debate on October 23,” Harris campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon said in a statement.
Harris' campaign called for a second debate with her Republican rival immediately after the Sept. 10 debate on ABC, but Trump has said he won't do any more debates.
“Donald Trump should have no problem agreeing to this debate, which has the same format and structure as the CNN debate that Trump participated in and claimed to have won in June, when he praised CNN's moderator, rules and ratings,” O'Malley Dillon added.
After his debate with Biden on CNN in June, when Biden was still atop the list of candidates, former President Trump said the moderators treated him “very fair” and were “very professional.”
A CNN spokesperson told The Hill on Saturday that both Harris and Trump have been invited to debate this fall, saying the network “believes a second debate between the two candidates would be beneficial for the American people.” Reported The debate will be similar to the one between Trump and Biden and is scheduled to take place in Atlanta.
The Harris campaign reiterated its argument that voters have a right to see another debate between the two candidates before Election Day.
“Americans deserve the opportunity to watch Vice President Kamala Harris debate Donald Trump one more time before voting. Having only one general election debate is unprecedented in modern history,” O'Malley Dillon said. “The debates are a unique opportunity for voters to see the candidates side-by-side and evaluate their competing visions for America.”
Biden's poor performance in the June debate led Democrats to call on him to forgo reelection, and he ultimately decided to step aside and support Harris.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the invitation.
