US Vice President Harris, Vance speak as debate date in question

By Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has asked former President Donald Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, to join an Aug. 13 debate hosted by CBS, a Biden-Harris campaign official said on Tuesday.

Harris asked in a voicemail to Vance after his selection as Trump's vice-presidential pick on Monday.

The two candidates spoke on Tuesday, the person said, but their teams still had not agreed to debate terms.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment and the Biden campaign did not comment.

The Democratic vice president had previously accepted terms for a CBS debate on either July 23 or Aug. 13, while Trump's campaign had sought a debate on Fox News that President Joe Biden's camp had said they would not accept.

The July date for a CBS debate is now off the table, according to a person familiar with the matter.

"I think he'd be more than happy to go forward with the debate," said Lara Trump, co-chair of the Republican National Committee, referring to Vance.

"And I don't see any reason why he wouldn't. I think it's important. You know, we've traditionally always had a VP debate. We'd love to see it."

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in WashingtonAdditional reporting by Nathan LayneEditing by Chris Reese and Matthew Lewis)