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Enthusiastic Republicans eager for J.D. Vance VP debate with Kamala Harris, but they could be in for a big surprise
Republicans celebrating former President Donald Trump's decision to select Sen. J.D. Vance as a running mate, are eagerly anticipating a debate between the Ohio Senator and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Vance will formally accept his nomination as Trump's running mate Wednesday evening at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Harris and Vance spoke on the phone on Tuesday after the vice president's first attempt to contact her new rival on Monday went to voice mail.
The call was cordial, according to reports, and both candidates agreed to a debate.
But that is only the first step in a set of negotiations of details that have have yet to be confirmed.
Both campaigns agreed in May to a proposed debate hosted by CBS for either July 23 or August 13. At the time, Trump also proposed a vice presidential debate on Fox News.
The Biden campaign Wednesday also floated August 12 as an additional date for a debate with Vance.
Republicans are eagerly anticipating a debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and their nominee for vice president JD Vance
Representatives of both the Biden campaign and the Trump campaign did not return DailyMail.com requests for comment about setting a debate date.
In the meantime, energized Republicans are previewing a debate matchup where they expect Vance to easily beat the vice president.
'He's going to do very very well, I've served with both of them,' Sen. Steve Gaines (R-MT) told DailyMail.com at the convention. 'I'd be concerned if I'm Kamala Harris facing J.D. Vance.'
Conservative Political Action Conference Chairman Matt Schlapp also dismissed Harris as a threat to Vance.
'Kamala seems like a low information vice president to me so I think we're gonna do okay,' he said to DailyMail.com.
Schlapp recalled that as a senator, Harris was 'formidable' during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, but that as vice president she had not performed well.
'Ever since that moment, she just seemed stupid,' he said. 'So I don't want to be overconfident, but it's not making me sweat.'
Rep. Byron Donalds told DailyMail.com that the prospects for Harris were 'not good,' for the vice president, because 'J.D. is knows how to debate, he's talented.'
Former Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said that Vance would easily win a debate with Harris during an interview at the convention.
But Ramaswamy left open the possibility of whether Harris would even still be running for vice president at that point in the campaign.
Harris, he noted, could conceivably be running for president as a replacement for Biden.
'I think it will be, if it's Kamala Harris, I think that JD will mop the floor but we will see if it's Kamala Harris or not,' Ramaswamy told Sky News.
Vance, who is 20 years younger than Harris and has only been a senator for a year has less political experience than Harris, who Republicans frequently dismiss as a lightweight with little political experience.
But Harris allies are not dismissing his debate abilities.
On CNN in June, former communications director for Harris Ashley Etienne warned the Harris campaign not to underestimate Vance, calling him the 'greatest threat.'
'I mean, he’s an incredible debater,' she said, adding, 'I think he’s just got a quality about him where he’s super smart and sharp and quick-witted.'
Harris supporters point to her famous debate moment during the 2020 presidential primary where she challenged then-Vice President Joe Biden on racial issues, sending him into a spiral that threatened to damage his campaign.
As a 2020 rival for the Democratic nomination for president, Kamala Harris savaged Joe Biden during the debates
Kamala Harris and Mike Pence debated in 2020 but it was upset after a fly landed on Pence's head
They also point to Harris' matchup with Mike Pence, arguing she was winning the debate with the Indiana governor until a fly landed on his head and stayed there for over two minutes while he was speaking and making it the most memorable point of the night.
'She’ll do beautifully,' Democratic strategist Johnny Palmadessa said, citing Harris' debate experience. 'The stress is really on Senator Vance’s plate ... I have to imagine the nerves will hit him.'
But Harris struggled to respond to Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's savage attack on her law enforcement record during the 2020 presidential debate, a clip that delights Trump supporters.
Trump supporters have long believe Harris to be incompetent, as clips of her 'word salad' moments from her first few years as vice president have gone viral online.
Democrats relish the opportunity during the debate to attack Vance on critical campaign issues like abortion and immigration to paint him as a dangerous radical.
But Vance successfully navigated those issues during his senate debates.
Vance successfully made a thoughtful case to voters throughout the zany Republican Senate primary debates in Ohio, emerging as the winner in 2022.
Despite his record of criticizing Trump, Vance conceded he was wrong about the president and voted for him.
'All of us say stupid things, and I happen to say stupid things very publicly,' he said during a March 2022 debate with his Republican rivals, who were more fervent supporters of the president.
JD Vance competed in debates during his race for Senate with Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH)
J.D. Vance accused Democrat Tim Ryan of prompting 'scumbags' to attack his biracial children
Fans of Vance point to clips of him speaking about the pro-life issue in a compassionate way that resonated during his Senate debate with his Democratic rival Rep. Tim Ryan, who tried to portray him as a dangerous radical MAGA Republican.
At the time, Ryan pointed to his comments on the 'great replacement theory' on immigration, accusing him of being a racist or even 'white nationalist.'
Vance, whose wife is the child of Indian immigrants, has repeatedly dismissed those accusations as 'disgusting,' as he is the father of 'biracial children.'
He accused Ryan of prompting 'scumbags' online to attack his family.
'We are sick of it,' he said referring to his family in a 2022 debate with Ryan. 'You can believe in a border without being racist.'