Trump refuses second debate with Harris, claims previous victory
Donald Trump, the former President of the United States, made an official statement on Thursday refusing to participate in the next debate with Kamala Harris. The Republican candidate claims—despite the lack of factual confirmation—that he won the last debate, making another confrontation unnecessary.
Trump announced this through 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.
The former president also stated in his post that Harris should focus on actions she didn’t take over the last four years while emphasising that "there will be no third debate!" (Trump previously debated with Biden as well—ed.).
Trump accused Harris of rejecting earlier proposals to appear on Fox News, CBS, and NBC and stressed that he had already discussed all the issues in detail during the two previous debates with Biden and Harris.
Trump continues to claim that he won the televised clash with Kamala, even though publicly available opinion polls indicate a victory for Harris.
Trump explained why he won’t debate with Harris
On Thursday, Trump, before an election rally in Tucson, said he would no longer debate his opponent because there was nothing to talk about. "We just don't think it's necessary," 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.
Despite earlier invitations, Trump, already after the debate in Philadelphia, suggested a lack of interest in further confrontations. He said he would only agree to a debate moderated by sympathetic commentators. Harris's team immediately responded with a proposal for another debate, asking on the X platform: "Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?"
Will Trump change his mind about the debate?
The Hill reported that Republicans from Congress appealed to Trump to reconsider his decision to withdraw from further debates. Senator Thom Tillis suggested that it could be an opportunity for Trump to present his views more thoughtfully, especially regarding 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.
