Trump declines the next debate with Harris, citing past victories
Donald Trump, former President of the United States, announced on Thursday that he will not participate in the next debate with Kamala Harris. The Republican candidate claims—despite a lack of supporting evidence—that he won the last debate, negating the need for another confrontation.
13 September 2024 06:22
Trump shared this update on his social media platform, TRUTH Social. "When a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are, 'I WANT A REMATCH.' Polls clearly show that I won the Debate against Comrade Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ Radical Left Candidate, on Tuesday night, and she immediately called for a Second Debate," Trump wrote.
In his post, the former president also noted that Harris should focus on her unaddressed actions from the past four years, emphasizing that "there will not be a third debate!"
Trump accused Harris of rejecting earlier invitations to appear on Fox News, CBS, and NBC. He emphasized that he had already discussed all relevant issues during the two past debates with Biden and Harris.
Although Trump continues to assert that he won the televised confrontation with Harris, publicly available poll results indicate a win for Harris.
Trump explained why he will not debate Harris
On Thursday, before a campaign rally in Tucson, Trump said he would no longer debate his opponent because they have nothing new to discuss. "We simply believe it is unnecessary," Trump said in an interview with Telemundo Arizona.
"I had one with as you know, Joe, it was quite a famous debate, and then we had another one the other day and it was both very successful. In fact, my poll numbers went up since the debate and we think we've discussed everything and I don't think they want it either," he added.
Will Trump change his mind about the debate?
The Hill reported that Republicans in Congress are urging Trump to reconsider his decision to skip the next debates. Senator Thom Tillis suggested it could be an opportunity for Trump to present his views more thoughtfully, especially on immigration issues. "It makes a lot more sense to, instead of talking about cats and dogs [getting eaten in Ohio], to talk about 1.5 million got-aways," argued Tillis.
Despite earlier invitations, Trump, after the debate in Philadelphia, indicated a lack of interest in further confrontations. He stated that he would only agree to a debate conducted by sympathetic journalists. The Harris team immediately responded with a proposal to organize another debate, asking on the platform X: "Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?"