In an invitation to the campaign managers of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, Fox News proposed hosting a presidential debate on September 17 in Pennsylvania.
The message was first reported by PoliticoThe Capital-Star obtained copies of invitations from Fox News Media President Jay Wallace and Vice President of Political Affairs Jessica Loker sent to Harris campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon, as well as Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, senior advisers to the Trump campaign.
The invitations proposed Fox News hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum as moderators, but did not provide details on where in Pennsylvania the debate might be held.
Harris had secured pledges from enough Democratic delegates by overdue Monday evening to clinch the Democratic nomination. President Joe Biden withdrew his reelection bid on Sunday and endorsed Harris. Trump officially became the GOP nominee at the Republican National Convention last week.
The Trump and Harris campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
During a call with reporters on Tuesday, Trump committed to a debate with Harris, adding that he was “willing to do more than one.”
Biden’s withdrawal comes after weeks of pressure from the Democratic Party after indigent performance in the June 27 debate against Trump.
With less than a month to go until the Democratic National Convention, Harris’ choice of vice presidential candidate has dominated news coverage, with the national press following Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to events across the state this week. Shapiro is one of the people speculated to be on Harris’ shortlist, but he said Tuesday at an event in Shippensburg that he had not been asked and had not submitted verification paperwork to be considered for vice president.
At an event in Pittsburgh on Monday, Shapiro said Harris was making a “deeply personal decision … that should be made independent of any political pressure.”
