Harris agrees to CNN debate, Trump campaign nixes idea

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted an invitation from CNN to participate in another debate against Donald Trump on Oct. 23 and urges her Republican rival to face her less than two weeks ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election, the Democratic candidate's campaign said on Saturday.

"Vice President Harris is ready for another opportunity to share a stage with Donald Trump, and she has accepted CNN's invitation to a debate on October 23. Donald Trump should have no problem agreeing to this debate," Jen O'Malley Dillon, the chair of the Harris campaign, said in a statement.

Asked about Harris' acceptance of the CNN invitation, a Trump spokesperson referred to the Republican former president's prior statements that there would be no more debates.

Harris and Trump debated each other for the first time on Sept. 10, in a contest that polls showed was won by the Democratic nominee.

Trump last week said he would not participate in another debate against Harris before the election.

"THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!" the former president wrote on his social media site Truth Social last Thursday.

Trump debated President Joe Biden in June before his matchup against Harris.

Biden's shaky performance in that debate rattled Democrats and prompted strategists to ask whether their party should take the unprecedented step of replacing the 81-year old president as their candidate.Biden withdrew from the race for the White House in July.

(Reporting by Katharine Jackson and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Paul Simao)