Trump campaign won’t commit to VP debate, citing uncertainty over Democratic ticket

MILWAUKEE — The Trump campaign on Wednesday said it would not commit to a date for a vice presidential debate, suggesting it was still uncertain who would be on the Democratic ticket.

“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,” senior Trump campaign adviser Brian Hughes said in a statement. “To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate.”

The Biden campaign earlier Wednesday said Vice President Harris had accepted an invitation from CBS News to participate in a debate against Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), on Aug. 12 or Aug. 13. CBS News had previously extended an invite for July 23, though such a date seemed unlikely, given it was a week after the GOP convention.

“Donald Trump is the one whose campaign said he would debate ‘anytime, anyplace’ and who picked JD Vance specifically for his debating skills,” Biden campaign spokesperson Brian Fallon said in a statement.

“Now suddenly right after a damning new leak showing his support for a nationwide abortion ban, Vance is backing off a debate against Vice President Harris, who has spent the last two years prosecuting the case on behalf of reproductive freedom,” he added.

Vance said in an interview Tuesday that it was important for the public to see him debate Harris.

But the Trump campaign is seizing on the hand-wringing among Democrats about whether President Biden should step aside as the nominee, to punt on a potential debate this summer.

Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.) on Wednesday became one of the most prominent and high-ranking Democrats to call for Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.

Biden has refused to drop out, saying as recently as Monday that he had not changed his position regarding whether to remain in the race, during an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt.

Polling has looked increasingly bleak for Biden and his campaign. An Associated Press poll published Wednesday found nearly two-thirds of Democrats said Biden should withdraw from the race and let the party choose a different nominee, compared to roughly 30 percent of Democrats who said they are extremely or very confident in his ability to serve effectively.