Vice President Kamala Harris avoided answering whether or not she would debate the GOP vice presidential nominee on former President Donald Trump‘s ticket, as he’s the last Republican in the 2024 primary.
In an interview with NBC News on Friday, Harris was asked whether she’d be willing to commit to going toe-to-toe with the Republican vice presidential nominee this fall, who has yet to be announced.
“We just got through the State of the Union. And I’m just so excited about what we accomplished last night and our president,” Harris replied.
Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley ended her bid to become president on Wednesday, essentially handing the party’s nomination to the former president after Trump defeated her in all but one state on Super Tuesday. All eyes are on the potential vice presidential candidates, which Trump has said include Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (R-HI). Trump has also floated Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who dropped out of the presidential race in January, and Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) as potential contenders to join his ticket.
Trump has opted out of participating in Republican presidential primary debates and once called on the Republican National Committee to cancel all future debates. With less than eight months until the general election, Trump said this week he would debate Biden “anywhere, anytime, anyplace.”
“It is important, for the Good of our Country, that Joe Biden and I Debate Issues that are so vital to America, and the American People. Therefore, I am calling for Debates, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE!” Trump wrote Wednesday on Truth Social.
Biden did not rule out the possibility of confronting Trump, telling reporters as he departed Washington for Philadelphia on Friday, “It depends on his behavior.”
Harris declined to speak for the president when NBC News asked about the possibility of a Trump-Biden debate, noting she hasn’t “talked to the president about that” but encouraged a look into the “split screen.”
“On the one hand, you’ve got Joe Biden — someone who is competent, who is principled, who has accomplished more than many presidents even hoped for — on infrastructure, on climate, on healthcare,” Harris said.
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“On the other side of that split screen, you’ve got the former president, who glorifies dictators and has said he’ll be a dictator on Day One,” Harris added. “Someone who has said that he will weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies. Someone who said he’s proud of the fact that he had picked three members of the United States Supreme Court, who took a constitutional right from the women of America to make decisions about their own body.”
When pressed on the topic again, the vice president said, “That’s a choice that is going to be decided upon soon, and we’ll keep you posted.”
