Former president Donald Trump’s campaign on Friday formally accepted Fox News’ invitation to participate in a vice-presidential debate against Kamala Harris this summer, but President Joe Biden’s campaign rejected the offer.
Fox requested the opportunity to host a debate between Vice President Harris and Trump’s future running mate on July 23, August 13, or sometime following the Republican and Democratic nominating conventions. The conservative media outlet also asked Virginia State University to allow the event to be held on its campus, considering the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates previously selected the historically black college or university (HBCU) to host a presidential debate in October.
However, that plan was scrapped after Biden’s campaign said it wanted the 2024 debates outside the traditional format run by the commission. Trump and Biden mutually agreed on Wednesday to participate in two presidential debates with news networks instead — one hosted by CNN on June 27 and the other hosted by ABC News on September 10.
“On behalf of the future Vice President of the United States, who I have not yet chosen, we hereby accept the Fox Vice Presidential Debate, hopefully at Virginia State University, the first Historically Black College or University to host a Debate – Date to be determined,” Trump said on Truth Social Friday afternoon. “I urge Vice President Kamala Harris to agree to this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
In a separate message, Trump announced he also accepted a debate proposal made by NBC News and Telemundo.
“I have accepted a fourth Presidential Debate against Crooked Joe Biden, this time with NBC & Telemundo,” he wrote. “This Fourth Debate will go along with our previously accepted Presidential Debates on CNN, ABC, and Fox. This is all in addition to our accepting an invitation from Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum of Fox News to host the Vice Presidential Debate at Virginia State University, or another venue, in Virginia, to be named later.”
Shortly thereafter, the Biden campaign declined to accept Fox’s vice-presidential debate invite and the joint NBC-Telemundo offer.
“The debate about debates is over,” a Biden campaign official told NBC. “No more games.”
The news comes a day after Harris accepted a debate proposal made by CBS News. The Trump campaign has so far not accepted CBS’s invitation, which, like Fox, proposed dates for July 23 or August 13.
Trump has yet to pick his vice-presidential candidate. Senator Tim Scott (R., S.C.), North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, Senator J.D. Vance (R., Ohio), Representative Byron Donalds (R., Fla.), Representative Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.), and numerous others are on the rumored list of contenders. Burgum recently told the New York Post that over 50 people could be on Trump’s shortlist.
The presumptive Republican nominee said on Thursday there’s a “good chance” he’ll make the long-awaited announcement at the Republican National Convention, scheduled for July 15-18 in Milwaukee, Wis. The Democratic National Convention will take place from August 19-22 in Chicago, Ill.