Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance said he will debate Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), the Democratic candidate for vice president.
Vance previously said he would debate Walz only once he became the nominee of the Democratic Party, which he became after a roll call vote established Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee with Walz as her running mate last week. When asked on CNN’s State of the Union if he would debate Walz, Vance said, “Of course.”
“Of course, I want to debate Tim Walz. I think it‘s important and I think that it goes to a very fundamental difference between the Trump-Vance ticket and our opposition,” Vance said.
“We believe in talking to the media, we believe in answering questions, we believe in debating,” Vance continued.
He said he valued the principle of the debate and that he would keep on making the case for voting for the Republican ticket in “whatever form I get the opportunity.”
“I think it’s really important. I mean, I’m asking the American people to make me their vice president; it’s really important to stand before the American people to make that case,” Vance said.
Vance previously said he could not commit to debating Walz until his nomination was confirmed as he believed it was unclear if Walz was really going to become the nominee because “he’s got a lot of skeletons that are coming out of the closet.”
“I absolutely want to debate Tim Walz, but I want to debate him after he’s actually officially the nominee,” Vance said last week.
“Would it shock me if the Democrats pulled another switcheroo? No, it wouldn’t,” Vance said. “So look, we’re going to wait until they actually nominate Kamala Harris and Tim Walz before we do any debates.”
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Before President Joe Biden exited the presidential race, Harris agreed to debate Vance on CBS News on either July 23 or Aug. 13. It is unclear at this time who the host network would be for a vice presidential debate, and no date has been set.
Walz expressed enthusiasm towards the chance of debating Vance, saying at a campaign stop “I can’t wait to debate the guy.”