(Headline USA) Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly called Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance on Monday evening to congratulate him and agree to a debate, Politico reported.
Harris called Vance shortly after former President Donald Trump announced him as his running mate, but the two did not get to speak.
Rather, Harris left a message to “congratulate him on his selection, welcome him to the race, and express her hope that the two can meet” in a debate, according to a Biden campaign spokesperson.
The Biden–Harris campaign previously accepted the terms of a vice-presidential debate hosted by CBS News, which is expected to take place later this summer.
“I’m planning on being at the CBS studios … in either July or August,” Harris said last month. “And let’s see if the other side shows up. I’m ready to make the case—whoever he picks, no matter who it is.”
Trump’s campaign has not yet agreed to a CBS-hosted debate, instead proposing that Fox News should host the debate.
Ashley Etienne, Harris’s former communications director, warned last month that J.D. Vance would be the “greatest threat” to Harris on a debate stage.
“I mean he’s an incredible debater,” Etienne told CNN at the time. “I think he has this quality that makes him seem palpable to that 1-2% that actually might vote or that is undecided, that will actually pay attention to the debates, because most people don’t pay attention to the debates.”
Etienne went on to describe the 39-year-old Ohio senator as “super smart” and “quick-witted,” which could be a problem for Harris.
“I just think it’s going to be a challenge to see the two of them face-to-face,” she said. “I mean, maybe it’s just me, but I think he’s going to be the greatest threat.”
