Before November’s election, Donald Trump has said he will not participate in another presidential debate with Kamala Harris.
He claimed on Thursday, two days after the fighters’ initial encounter in Philadelphia, that Harris was only interested in a rematch since he “clearly” prevailed.
Voters believed Harris had outperformed her Republican opponent, according to a number of quick polls conducted following Tuesday’s contest.
Briefly
- Donald Trump asserts that Kamala Harris’s request indicates a defeat.
2) Citing anonymous surveys, he asserts that he won the Tuesday debate.
3) Kamala Harris is the winner according to popular polls.
Harris, Trump continued, ought to “focus” on her role as vice president instead.
In response, Harris said they “owe” voters another debate because “what is at stake could not be more important” at a campaign rally in North Carolina shortly after.
With barely two months till the election, polls indicate that there is a very close contest between the two contenders.
After a ninety-minute discussion on Tuesday on ABC News, during which Harris put Donald Trump on the defensive by attacking him personally, both declared victory. Comments regarding the size of his rally audiences and his actions during the US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, were among them.
The two ABC journalists who moderated the discussion have subsequently been charged by Trump and his allies with being unfair and prejudiced in favor of Harris. He declared on Thursday that he didn’t require one more argument.
In a lengthy Truth Social post on Thursday, Donald Trump stated, “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… and she immediately called for a second debate,” he continued.
The former president spoke with Telemundo Arizona backstage at a rally he attended on Thursday in Arizona. He stated, “We just don’t think it’s necessary,” regarding his and Harris’s second debate. “We think we’ve discussed everything and I don’t think they want it either.”
But the Harris campaign didn’t stop calling for another debate after Philadelphia and did so again on Thursday. They stated people “got to see the choice they will face at the ballot box: moving forward with Kamala Harris or going backwards with Trump”.
A second debate is something Vice President Harris is prepared for. Is President Trump?” campaign stated.
A number of surrogates for Trump, like Republican Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, stated during the debate that they thought the candidate might be open to participating in another one.
On Fox News the next morning, Trump, however, declared that the debate had been “rigged” and that, following his “great night,” he was “less inclined” to attend another.
Also, it seemed that his decision on Thursday went against what his own campaign had said before. President Donald Trump “has already said that he is going to do three debates,” according to senior advisor Jason Miller, who spoke with CNN on Wednesday morning.
It was reported that both campaigns had discussed a debate that would air on NBC News on September 25. The network has not responded to the most recent remarks made by Donald Trump.
“Trump has to find a fresh perspective.”
Donald Trump
The BBC was informed by Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has provided economic messaging advice to the Harris-Walz campaign. Green claimed that Donald Trump’s choice was a “double favor” to the Harris campaign.
“Voters will have a lasting impression of Kamala Harris as looking presidential and standing on their side,” he said. “That will probably do her very well.”
“Another debate would potentially help Harris, but could also shake up the existing glow that surrounds her,” Mr Green noted.
An independent voter from Utah named Jeremy Petersen told the BBC that he did not find Donald Trump’s choice surprising.
After the Philadelphia debate, Mr. Petersen stated that he would likely back Harris. “If [Trump] doesn’t feel like he can score some social media soundbites, there’s no benefit for him to show up,” he said.
“He felt that Harris wouldn’t have the type of performance she did and now he’s running scared,” Mr Petersen added. “He can’t stop her momentum via debate so he needs a new angle.”