A social media spat erupted after Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. Transportation Secretary, took a jab at Donald Trump for not committing to debates with Vice President Kamala Harris. Buttigieg suggested that Trump’s reluctance to debate Harris was a sign of “weakness” due to his withdrawal from a debate against Biden earlier in the campaign.
This prompted a wave of criticism from conservatives on social media, who argued that Buttigieg was being hypocritical, highlighting Biden’s own withdrawal from debates in the past. Conservative commentators, including CNN’s Scott Jennings, pollster Frank Luntz, and Fox News contributor Guy Benson, pointed to Biden’s decision to pull out of a second debate against Trump in the 2020 election.
Further adding to the controversy, Trump’s campaign explained that their decision to hold off on scheduling debates with Harris stemmed from the uncertainty surrounding the Democratic nominee, stating that it “would be inappropriate to schedule things with Harris because Democrats very well could still change their minds.” VP Harris, in response, characterized this stance as “backpedaling.”
Despite the back and forth on social media, neither Buttigieg’s office nor the Harris campaign responded to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
Trump, however, expressed his willingness to debate Harris multiple times, stating that he found it “important” and would be “willing to do more than one debate, actually.” However, he clarified that he had only agreed to a debate with Biden, not Harris, indicating that he would not commit to debating Harris until the Democratic nominee was finalized.
