Special Poll
The Trump campaign announced on Wednesday that it would not commit to a date for a vice presidential debate, citing uncertainty about who would be on the Democratic ticket.
“We don’t know who the Democratic nominee for Vice President will be, so setting a date before their convention would be premature,” said Brian Hughes, a senior adviser for the Trump campaign, in a statement. “It wouldn’t be fair to potential candidates like Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or anyone Kamala Harris might choose as her running mate.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the Biden campaign revealed that Vice President Harris had accepted an invitation from CBS News to debate Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), on August 12 or 13. CBS News had initially proposed a July 23 date, which seemed improbable as it fell just a week after the GOP convention.
In an interview on Tuesday, Vance emphasized the importance of the public witnessing his debate with Harris.
However, the Trump campaign is capitalizing on the internal debates among Democrats regarding President Biden’s candidacy, using this uncertainty to avoid committing to a summer debate.
On Wednesday, Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.) became one of the highest-profile Democrats to call for Biden to step down from the presidential race.
Biden, on the other hand, has maintained his stance on staying in the race, reiterating as recently as Monday in an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt that he had no intention of withdrawing.
Polls have been increasingly unfavorable for Biden and his campaign. An Associated Press poll published on Wednesday indicated that nearly two-thirds of Democrats believe Biden should withdraw and allow the party to select a different nominee. In contrast, only about 30 percent of Democrats expressed high confidence in his ability to serve effectively.