Former President Trump said Thursday he would not participate in another debate with Vice President Harris, squashing the potential for a second meeting between the two candidates before Election Day.
“When a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are, ‘I WANT A REMATCH,’” Trump posted on Truth Social, asserting that he won Tuesday’s debate with Harris despite some polls showing otherwise.
The former president argued issues like inflation and immigration were discussed “in great detail” during his June debate with President Biden and during Tuesday night’s showdown with Harris.
“She was a no-show at the Fox Debate, and refused to do NBC & CBS,” Trump posted. “KAMALA SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE DURING THE LAST ALMOST FOUR YEAR PERIOD. THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!”
Shortly after Trump’s social media post, Harris took to the stage for a rally in North Carolina where she addressed her desire to face the former president again.
“I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate, because this election and what are at stake could not be more important,” Harris told supporters.
Trump and Harris debated on Tuesday, their first meeting since Harris became the Democratic candidate in late July. The vice president repeatedly attempted to get under Trump’s skin, often succeeding as the former president went on tangents about crowd size, Biden and a conspiracy theory about migrants abducting pets in an Ohio town.
Harris’s campaign almost immediately called for a second debate between the two candidates. Trump waffled, suggesting he wasn’t inclined to agree to another one.
The former president had previously accepted a Fox News debate in early September and an NBC debate in late September, though Harris’s campaign said a second debate was dependent on the two candidates both participating in Tuesday’s event, hosted by ABC News.
A CNN rapid poll found 63 percent of debate watchers said Harris won Tuesday’s debate, compared to 37 percent who said Trump won. Multiple polls released Thursday showed Harris widening her lead over Trump nationally.
Trump cited multiple social media polls in the Wednesday morning interview, including one posted by C-SPAN, that showed he fared better than Harris. And a Trump campaign poll found Trump got a 2-point bump from the debate, while Harris’s support in battleground states remained flat.
Updated at 3:56 p.m.
