The Biden campaign has accepted CBS News' invitation to participate in a vice presidential debate this summer.
The Biden campaign says the proposed dates of Tuesday, July 23 or Tuesday, August 13 would be acceptable for Vice President Kamala Harris to debate. The Trump campaign has not yet publicly accepted the invitation. And former President Donald Trump has not yet named a running mate.
“We look forward to the Trump campaign accepting one of these dates so that the full debate calendar for this campaign can be established,” Brian Fallon, Harris' campaign communications director, told reporters.
CBS News confirmed that President Biden's campaign accepted the offer to host a vice presidential debate and has extended the same offer to Trump's campaign.
Mr. Biden and Trump have agreed for the presidential debates on June 27 and September 3. Plans for the debates came together quickly after the president's campaign said in a letter that he was willing to debate his Republican opponent twice before the November election. That set off a series of competing proposals and social media posts from the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees, culminating in the two debates scheduled within hours for June and September.
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, a potential running mate choice for Trump, hinted at possibly participating in a debate during an interview Wednesday evening.
“I hear there's a debate in July. If you're the moderator, maybe I'll talk to you. We'll see what happens,” Scott told Newsmax.
Democratic strategists argued that an earlier start date for the debates would help the Biden campaign highlight the contrasts between the president and Trump to a broader audience and could offset some of the disadvantages Biden has at the polls.
“It's important to start attacking [Trump] one on one asked. We have all the benefits, so the sooner the better,” said Quentin James, chairman of The Collective PAC, a committee that backs Black candidates and has endorsed Mr. Biden.
Melissa Quinn contributed to this report
