Vance accepts VP debates with Walz on Oct. 1 and Sept. 18

Republican presidential running mate JD Vance said Thursday he will debate Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz on Oct. 1, while also challenging his opponent to accept another debate, on Sept. 18.

“The American people deserve as many debates as possible, which is why President Trump has challenged Kamala to three of them already,” Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, said in a post on social media platform X.

“Not only do I accept the CBS debate on October 1st, I accept the CNN debate on September 18th as well,” the running mate to former President Donald Trump said. “I look forward to seeing you at both!”

Walz, the Minnesota governor and running mate to Vice President Kamala Harris, on Wednesday had agreed to face off with Vance on Oct. 1 in a debate hosted by CBS News.

It was not immediately clear whether Walz has agreed to a Sept. 18 debate. A Harris campaign spokesman did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Vance’s X post.

“CNN invited both Senator Vance and Governor Walz to a Vice Presidential debate this fall, and Senator Vance has accepted,” a CNN spokesperson told CNBC in a statement.

“We are always in communication with the campaigns around opportunities for the American public to hear from leading candidates for President and Vice President of the United States, and we look forward to this programming in the fall,” the spokesperson said.

If Walz accepts a Sept. 18 debate with Vance, the event could divert attention from Trump, who is scheduled to be sentenced that day in his criminal hush money case in New York.

Trump was convicted in late May on 34 counts of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to cover up a hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election.

Daniels, who says she had sex with Trump while he was married in 2006, was paid by Trump’s then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen. Trump reimbursed Cohen after he became president.

Trump and Harris last week agreed to a presidential debate on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC News. Trump has pushed Harris to accept a Sept. 4 debate on Fox News and and a Sept. 25 debate hosted by NBC News.