JD Vance's Team Says He Won't Debate Kamala Harris Ahead Of The DNC

Sen. JD Vance, former President Donald Trump’s running mate, won’t debate Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the Democratic National Convention next month, the Trump campaign said Wednesday, citing uncertainty about who the Democratic candidate will be.

While Trump officially announced Vance as his VP pick earlier this week, calling him the “best suited” person for the role, growing pressure on President Joe Biden to step down from the race following his poor performance at the CNN debate in late June has led to questions about whether Harris could replace him at the top of the Democratic ticket.

Democrats will officially nominate their candidates by the end of their party convention scheduled for Aug. 19-22.

“We don’t know who the Democrat nominee for Vice President is going to be, so we can’t lock in a date before their convention,” Brian Hughes, a senior adviser for the Trump campaign, said in a statement on the VP debate.

“To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate,” Hughes added, referring to popular Democratic governors who have been floated as potential candidates on the party’s ticket should Biden drop out.

In a call Tuesday after Vance’s nomination, Harris and the Ohio senator reportedly said they looked forward to debating each other, but did not get drawn into more details.

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign on Wednesday said Harris has accepted dates put forward by CBS News for a vice presidential debate, including the latest offer for Aug. 12. The Trump campaign has not officially agreed to take part in the CBS event.

The Trump team had committed to a Fox News vice presidential debate earlier this year, ahead of