“He [Trump] agreed to that previously [having a debate on September 10],” Harris told reporters.
"Now appears he is backpedaling, but I'm ready, and I think the voters deserve to see the split screen that exists in this race on a debate stage and so I'm ready. Let's go on."
The first and last debate between US President Joe Biden and Donald Trump took place on June 27 and proved to validate calls for a new candidate to challenge Trump in the upcoming election.
The televised debate saw Biden appear confused and incoherent throughout the event with Trump, reinforcing rather than alleviating ongoing concerns about his cognitive abilities. Less than a month afterward, on July 21, Biden revealed he was withdrawing from the 2024 race.
The second debate between Biden and Trump was scheduled for September 10. Still, it remains to be seen whether the latter will agree to instead debate Harris, who is yet to be formally nominated by the Democratic Party.
Harris' remarks also come as polling places her neck-to-neck in the race when put against Trump. A New York Times/Siena College poll released Thursday showed the two candidates in a "virtual tie," with Trump leading Harris 48% to 47% when matched.
The poll surveyed 1,142 voters nationwide from July 22 to 24 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. The NYT-Siena poll came after a Tuesday Reuters/Ipsos poll found Harris was leading by two points.
The two polls suggest improved chances for the Democratic party in the November 5 election after Biden stepped aside as the Democrat nominee, handing the torch to his deputy Harris.
Until last week, Biden had been trailing Trump by between 2 and 5 points in most polls for the election. The president left the race after pressure within his Democratic party to make way for another candidate, following his disastrous televised debate with Trump in June.