- Republican presidential running mate JD Vance said he will debate Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz on October 1.
- Vance, the Ohio senator running alongside former President Donald Trump, also challenged Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate to agree to another debate on Sept. 18.
- Trump is expected to be sentenced that day in his criminal corruption case in New York.
Republican presidential running mate JD Vance said Thursday he will debate Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz on Oct. 1, while challenging his opponent to a second debate on Sept. 18.
“The American people deserve as many debates as possible, which is why President Trump has already challenged Kamala to three of them,” Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, said in a message on X.
“Not only do I accept the debate on CBS on October 1, but I also accept the debate on CNN on September 18,” the former president’s running mate said. Donald Trump “I can’t wait to see you both!”
Walz, Governor of Minnesota and the Vice President’s running mate Kamala Harrishad agreed Wednesday to face Vance on Oct. 1 in a debate hosted by CBS News.
It is not yet clear whether Walz has agreed to participate in the second debate. A spokesperson for Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Vance’s X-rated post.
“CNN invited Senator Vance and Governor Walz to a vice presidential debate this fall, and Senator Vance accepted,” a CNN spokesperson told CNBC in a statement.
“We are continuing to communicate with the campaigns regarding opportunities for the American public to hear from the leading candidates for president and vice president of the United States, and we look forward to that programming in the fall,” the spokesperson said.
If Walz agrees to a debate with Vance on September 18, the event could distract from Trump, who is scheduled to be sentenced that day in his criminal bribery case in New York.
Trump was convicted in late May of 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with a scheme to conceal a payment to silence porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
Daniels, who claims she had sex with Trump while he was married in 2006, was paid by Trump’s personal lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen. Trump reimbursed Cohen after he became president.
Last week, Trump and Harris agreed to host a presidential debate on September 10, hosted by ABC News. Trump pushed Harris to agree to a debate on September 4 on Fox News and another on September 25, hosted by NBC News.
