Former President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he will not participate in another debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, following their recent encounter in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
"THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!" Trump declared at the conclusion of a lengthy post on his Truth Social account. The first presidential debate took place between Trump and President Biden back in June.
Explaining his decision to avoid a third debate, Trump wrote, "When a prizefighter loses, the first thing they say is, 'I WANT A REMATCH.'" He also claimed that unnamed polls showed he had won.
However, initial surveys from Reuters, YouGov, and CNN indicated that the majority of voters believed Harris had outperformed Trump. Most commentators and analysts agreed, noting that Harris had the upper hand by staying on the offensive, while Trump was often on the defensive.
During the debate, Trump occasionally struggled to stay on message, reiterating debunked claims about Haitian migrants eating pets, vaguely mentioning "concepts" for a health care plan, and denying that attendees were leaving his rallies early.
Shortly after Trump's announcement, Harris spoke at a rally in North Carolina, expressing her willingness to participate in another debate.
"I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate," she said.
She echoed the same message in a social media post to express her stance. "We owe it to the voters to have another debate," she wrote.
Some of Trump’s supporters also acknowledged Harris' strong performance. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who endorsed Trump after exiting the presidential race, told Fox News that Harris won the debate in terms of "her delivery, her polish, her organization, and her preparation," although he maintained that "on substance, President Trump wins in terms of his governance."
"But he didn’t tell that story," Kennedy remarked in the Fox News interview.
