Trump Team's Hesitation to Schedule Debates with Harris Draws Criticism

The Trump campaign's reluctance to commit to debates with Vice President Kamala Harris, who is yet to secure the Democratic Party nomination, has sparked controversy, with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg mocking Trump for showing "weakness." Conservatives have pointed out that Biden did the same in the 2020 race.

The Trump campaign's hesitation to schedule debates with Vice President Kamala Harris, who has not yet officially secured the Democratic Party nomination for the 2024 race, has drawn criticism from both sides of the political aisle.

Trump Team's Hesitation to Schedule Debates with Harris Draws Criticism

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took to social media on Friday to mock former President Trump for showing "weakness" by not agreeing to debate Harris in September.

"Has a presidential nominee ever agreed to a debate, then pulled out? Remarkable show of weakness here," Buttigieg posted on Twitter before being mocked by conservatives who argued that Biden had an agreement with Trump but dropped out of the race and effectively pulled out of the scheduled debate.

Trump Team's Hesitation to Schedule Debates with Harris Draws Criticism

"Yes. Biden. Literally this past weekend," CNN's Scott Jennings posted on Twitter.

"Joe Biden agreed to 2 debates, then pulled out of his entire campaign after the first one," pollster Frank Luntz posted on Twitter.

Trump Team's Hesitation to Schedule Debates with Harris Draws Criticism

Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower May 30, 2024. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)

"The only one I can think of is Joe Biden, right?" The Federalist's Mollie Hemingway posted on Twitter.

Trump Team's Hesitation to Schedule Debates with Harris Draws Criticism

"I'm actually surprised Pete would dunk this hard on his boss, Joe Biden," Fox News contributor Guy Benson posted on Twitter. "The man *just* pulled out of the race (and therefore the second debate), clearly against his will. Undeniable weakness aside, give him a moment of peace."

Pete Buttigieg, U.S. transportation secretary, speaks during a news conference near the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Feb. 23, 2023. (Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"This is the sort of extraordinarily brazen tack you take only when you know that the media is in full campaign mode in your favor," National Review's Charles C. Cooke posted on Twitter.

Fox News Digital reached out to Buttigieg's office and the Harris campaign but did not receive a response.

Trump said earlier this week that he's open to debating Vice President Harris more than once as the two face off in the 2024 presidential election.

"Absolutely. I'd want to. I think it's important," Trump said Tuesday when asked by Fox News' Bill Melugin on a conference call with reporters if he would commit to debating Harris at least once.

"I would be willing to do more than one debate, actually," Trump said. Minutes later, Trump noted, "I haven’t agreed to anything. I agreed to a debate with Joe Biden."

The Trump campaign said Thursday that he will not participate in a debate until Democrats finalize their nominee because it "would be inappropriate to schedule things with Harris because Democrats very well could still change their minds."

Harris criticized that position from the Trump campaign as "backpedaling."