Harris agrees to CNN debate on October 23, Trump says: “It’s too late”

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center in Atlanta on September 20, 2024. Harris spoke about abortion and reproductive rights in Georgia as she continues her campaign against Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump.

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Vice President Kamala Harris said Saturday she was ready to debate former President Donald Trump for a second time in October, ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.

Jen O'Malley Dillon, campaign chair for Harris and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, said in a statement that Harris accepted CNN's invitation to a debate on Oct. 23, less than two weeks before the election.

“I will gladly participate in a second presidential debate on October 23. I hope @realDonaldTrump is there,” Harris wrote in an X-post.

It's not the first time the Harris camp has suggested another fight. Shortly after Harris and Trump had a debate moderated by ABC News earlier this month, O'Malley Dillon said Harris was ready for a second round against him. But with Harris raising millions of dollars in the campaign, Trump declined to run against her again.

In an article on the Trump Media & Technology Group On the social network Truth Social, the Republican presidential candidate stated that there would be “no third debate.”

On Saturday, a Trump campaign spokesman referred to CNBC's post on “Truth Social” about there not being a third debate.

“She's had one debate,” Trump said Saturday at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina. “I've had two. It's too late for another one. I'd love to in many ways, but it's too late. The votes are cast.”

The first debate of 2024 pitted Trump against incumbent President Joe Biden. CNN broadcast the event in June, but Biden struggled on the debate stage. Democratic donors raised concerns about Biden's prospects, and Democratic members of Congress called on Biden to abandon his campaign. In August, Harris accepted the presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention.

“Donald Trump should have no problem agreeing to this debate,” O'Malley Dillon wrote in her statement. “It has the same format and structure as the CNN debate he attended in June and said he won by praising CNN's moderators, rules and ratings.”

— CNBC's Rebecca Picciotto contributed to this report.

REGARD: Harris won the debate but had no influence on voters' decisions, says Libby Cantrill of Pimco

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