Harris accepts CBS News’ VP debate offer for the summer

(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted an offer from CBS News to participate in a vice-presidential debate this summer, the Biden campaign said Thursday.

Harris accepted CBS News’ proposed dates of July 23 or Aug. 13, the campaign said.

“The Biden-Harris campaign has informed CBS News that we accept the network’s invitation to participate in a Vice Presidential debate, in studio, on either of two dates,” the campaign said.

Trump has not yet made his vice-presidential pick, thought several potential hopefuls appear to be working to get in the former president’s good graces through participation in his fundraisers and attending his New York criminal trial.

The news of the vice-presidential debate came a day after President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, agreed to two debates before the general election. One will be a prime-time debate at ABC News studios on Sept. 10. The debate will air on ABC News, ABC News Live and Hulu. Before that, they will participate in a CNN debate on June 27 in Atlanta.

The vice presidential debate would have the same guidelines that the Biden campaign outlined on Wednesday — including that it would not have an in-person audience, that there be firm time limits for answers, alternate turns to speak and candidate’s microphone should only be on when it is their turn to speak.

As part of the debate negotiations, the Biden campaign proposed a vice-presidential debate in late July after the Republican National Convention. The former president has said he doesn’t plan to make an announcement about his vice-presidential pick until closer to the RNC.

“Well, I’m not in a rush and we’ll do it sometime around the convention, but we have a lot of great people in the Republican Party,” Trump said in an interview with ABC affiliate WPVI in April, when asked about a potential vice presidential candidate.

“We look forward to the Trump campaign accepting one of these dates so that the full debate calendar for this campaign can be set,” the Biden campaign said.

Like the presidential debates, the vice-presidential debates are happening on an accelerated timeline.

Vice presidential debates have traditionally been held within the first two weeks of October. Harris and former Vice President Mike Pence squared off on Oct. 7, 2020.

ABC News’ Sarah Beth Hensley, Lalee Ibsaa and Soorin Kim contributed to this report.

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