Debating Kamala Harris would be unfair to her running mate, the Republicans said
The Republican campaign stated on Wednesday that a vice-presidential debate cannot occur until the Democrats finalize their ticket, a thinly veiled reference to calls for US President Joe Biden to step down.
On Monday, the Republicans formally nominated former President Donald Trump, announcing Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate. Vice President Kamala Harris extended an invitation to Vance for a debate, to be hosted by CBS News.
“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,” Trump campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes said in a statement on Wednesday evening. “To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitener, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate.”
The governors of California, Illinois and Michigan, respectively, have been suggested as potential replacements for Harris if Biden withdraws from the ticket.
Numerous Democrats have been urging the 81-year-old to step aside, particularly following his performance in the June 27 debate against Trump. California Congressman Adam Schiff, previously a key figure on the House Intelligence Committee, became the latest to encourage Biden to “pass the torch.”
While Biden has refused to withdraw from the race – or resign from the presidency – he revealed in a recorded interview aired on Wednesday the circumstances under which he might do so.
“If I had some medical condition that emerged,” this might cause him to reconsider, Biden told BET. However, he insisted that he remains fit for the job.
Speculation regarding Biden’s removal from the ticket was temporarily overshadowed by the attempted assassination of Trump on Saturday. The Republican candidate narrowly avoided death at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The US Secret Service has yet to disclose how a shooter managed to reach a position to open fire on the stage, resulting in the death of one rally-goer and serious injuries to two others.
Despite the incident, efforts by some Democrats to remove the president have apparently continued, with the New York Times reporting on Wednesday that a group of Democrat megadonors were “dangling money to members of Congress” willing to publicly call for Biden to step aside.
Harris has proposed three dates for the VP debates: July 23, August 12 and August 13. The Democrats are scheduled to hold their convention in Chicago on August 19, but aim to via a “virtual roll call” before then.