WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign said on Saturday she has accepted a CNN invitation to participate in an Oct. 23 debate and hopes to face Republican rival Donald Trump again less than two weeks before the Nov. 5 presidential election.
“Vice President Harris is ready for another opportunity to share the stage with Donald Trump and has accepted CNN’s invitation to debate on October 23,” Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement. “Donald Trump should have no problem agreeing to this debate.”
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Harris and Trump debated each other for the first time on September 10, in a contest that polls showed the Democratic candidate winning.
Trump said last week he would not participate in another debate against Harris before the election.
“There will be no third debate!” the former president wrote on his social media site Truth Social last Thursday.
Trump debated President Joe Biden in June ahead of his showdown with Harris.
Biden’s erratic performance in that debate has alarmed Democrats and prompted strategists to question whether their party should take the unprecedented step of replacing the 81-year-old president as its nominee. Biden dropped out of the White House race in July.