Harris accepts CNN’s invite for another presidential debate; Trump argues it’s ‘too late’

This combination of photos shows Vice President Kamala Harris, left, on Aug. 7, 2024 and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on July 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)(AP)
Published: Sep. 21, 2024 at 1:34 PM EDT|Updated: Sep. 21, 2024 at 3:45 PM EDT

(Gray News) - Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted an invitation from CNN for another presidential debate.

Jen O’Malley Dillon, the Harris-Walz campaign chair, announced the vice president’s decision in a statement Saturday.

“The American people deserve another opportunity to see Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump debate before they cast their ballots,” the statement read.

Harris posted to X, previously known as Twitter, on Saturday that she “will gladly accept a second presidential debate” and hopes Trump will join her.

During a rally in North Carolina Saturday, Trump said that it’s “just too late” for another debate, arguing that voting has already begun.

Early in-person voting began on Friday as voters lined up in Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia to cast their ballots.

Trump has previously said he would not debate Harris again, announcing in a post on Truth Social Sept. 12 that “There will be no third debate.”

However, CNN reported the former president appeared open to another debate last week. “Maybe if I got in the right mood,” he told reporters during a stop in California.

According to CNN, the debate would take place on Oct. 23, about two weeks before Election Day.

The network reported it would mirror the first 2024 presidential debate in June between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. In this format, Harris and Trump would field moderators’ questions without a live studio audience.