Vice presidential debate at Lafayette at risk of being canceled
The vice presidential debate scheduled for Sept. 25 at Lafayette College between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump’s yet-to-be-named pick is uncertain, according to an email Lafayette’s president sent to students. The email was first reported by Lafayette’s student newspaper on May 15.
In the end-of-year update to students, faculty and staff ahead of the college’s commencement, Lafayette President Nicole Hurd briefly touched on the vice presidential debate among other topics.
“As you know, the College was selected last fall by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) to host the U.S. Vice Presidential debate for the first time. Yesterday, two presidential candidates announced intentions for their debates that may impact this plan,” Hurd wrote.
In addition to Lafayette, the nonpartisan CPD chose three other schools to host the presidential debates this year. The commission was established in 1987 and has hosted presidential and vice presidential debates in nine election cycles, according to its website.
But that streak was upended when the Republican National Committee voted in April 2022 to withdraw from the commission’s debates because it said the group was “biased.” On Truth Social, Trump has continually challenged President Biden to a debate.
Biden responded on May 15 by posting a video offering to debate Trump twice on his campaign’s social media outlets. Two debates were quickly scheduled on CNN and ABC, but the wheels were set in motion behind-the-scenes for weeks because both campaigns wanted to “circumvent” the CPD, according to The New York Times.
On Thursday, Biden’s campaign said Vice President Harris accepted CBS News’ invitation to debate Trump’s pick on July 23 or Aug. 13. That leaves Lafayette College’s potential for the national spotlight in jeopardy.
Scott Morse, the assistant vice president for communications & marketing at Lafayette, said the CPD “has pledged to keep us informed on any impact recent developments may have on the vice presidential debate.”
The commission’s chair, Frank Fahrenkopf, told No Labels on May 16 that all of the 2024 sites “are prepared to host debates on dates chosen” but did not say whether the debates are officially canceled. Armchair Lehigh Valley reached out to the Commission on Presidential Debates through email but did not receive a response.
Lafayette celebrated the November 2023 announcement of the vice presidential debate. In a press release, Hurd said she was eager for the debate “to present our vibrant campus to a national audience.” The college also announced plans for facilities updates and launched a website.