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Kamala Harris agrees to vice presidential debate against Trump's running mate

The announcement comes a day after the former president and President Biden agreed to their own televised debates.
Kamala Harris
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Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted an invitation from CBS News to debate former President Donald Trump's currently unnamed running mate.

The Biden-Harris administration told the network she could participate in an in-studio debate either July 23 or August 13, both of which CBS News offered. The Trump campaign hasn't yet responded to the invitation, the network reported.

If the debate occurs on July 23, it would only be days after the Republican National Convention wraps in Milwaukee. Trump told Scripps News there's "probably a good chance" he'll announce his vice presidential pick there — an unusually long time to wait for a presumptive nominee's official call. He announced Mike Pence as his partner three days ahead of the RNC in 2016, and President Biden announced Harris a week before the DNC in 2020.

"I don't say anything is 100%, but you're getting pretty close," Trump told Scripps News political correspondent Charles Benson when asked if he'll wait until the high-profile event, which takes place July 15 to 18.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump with Sen. Tim Scott.

Presidential Election

Trump tells Scripps News he may wait until Republican Convention to name VP pick

Charles Benson

The former president and President Biden agreed to two televised debates — one from CNN set for June 27, the other from ABC set for Sept. 10 — on Wednesday. It's an agreed-upon step away from tradition; every presidential and vice presidential election debate has been organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates since 1988, not by television networks.

Each debate is happening earlier this year than the two party's past events. In 2020, Trump and President Biden first debated on Sept. 29, and Harris and Pence debated on Oct. 7.

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