Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts in the spin room, on the day of his debate with Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in Philadelphia on Sept. 10, 2024.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Thursday said there will not be another debate against his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The former president in a Truth Social post claimed that he won his first debate against Harris on Tuesday night. He cited as evidence the fact that Harris’ campaign had challenged him to another debate shortly after the first one ended.
Numerous conservative commentators and some of Trump’s own supporters have said Harris outperformed him.
But Trump in Thursday’s post wrote, “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.
Multiple post-debate polls actually show audiences by a sizable margin believe Harris won. In the wake of the debate, Trump and his allies lashed out at host network ABC News and accused the moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, of political bias.
The showdown in Philadelphia was Trump’s second presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle. He debated in late June against President Joe Bidenwho performed so badly that he ultimately withdrew his reelection bid and endorsed Harris as his replacement.
Trump in his Truth Social post wrote, “KAMALA SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE DURING THE LAST ALMOST FOUR YEAR PERIOD. THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!”
Less than an hour after that post was sent, Harris again called for another debate.
“Two nights ago, Donald Trump and I had our first debate,” she said at a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“And I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate because this election and what is at stake could not be more important.”
The two presidential running mates, Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are still set to meet Oct. 1 for their one and only vice presidential debate.
The campaigns have publicly squabbled over the debate schedule since Harris took over the Democratic ticket.
Trump had previously tried to push Harris to accept an early-September debate on Fox News. He also said at one point that he was game for another debate hosted by NBC News on Sept. 25. Harris’ campaign did not immediately agree to that debate.
Trump had waffled on whether to participate in an ABC-hosted debate, claiming that his ongoing defamation lawsuit against the network and anchor George Stephanopoulos created a “conflict of interest.”
The campaigns also traded barbs about the debate rules, with Harris’ team unsuccessfully pushing for both candidates’ microphones to stay on even when it was not their turn to answer.
Trump and Harris ended up facing off for the first, and possibly only, time Tuesday night.
Moments after the debate ended, Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon called for a second debate in October.
“Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?” she said.
Trump claimed victory in the debate, and quickly cast doubt on whether he would agree to another round.
In a Truth Social post Wednesday, he wrote, “Why would I do a Rematch?”