Donald Trump says he won’t debate Kamala Harris again after her campaign proposed an October date
Trump made his announcement with an all-caps post on Truth Social.
Former President Donald Trump won’t debate Vice President Kamala Harris a second time, he said in a Truth Social post Thursday.
“KAMALA SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE DURING THE LAST ALMOST FOUR YEAR PERIOD. THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” he wrote on his social media platform.
Harris’ campaign proposed a second debate immediately after the conclusion of Tuesday night’s ABC News presidential debate in Philadelphia, which was widely seen as a success for Harris and a setback for Trump. Since the campaign’s proposal, Trump had been ambiguous about whether he would commit to another face-off with Harris, underscored by the former president maintaining he won the debate despite widespread criticism of his performance.
In a rare and atypical spin-room appearance after the debate, Trump told reporters: “She wants a second debate because she lost. They immediately called for a second debate because they lost. So we’ll think about that.”
On Wednesday, Trump questioned “why would I do a Rematch?” on Truth Social, after telling Fox & Friends that morning that he is “not inclined to do it because I won the debate by a lot. But I think we let it settle in and let’s see what happens.”
During his visit to Shanksville, Pa., for the 9/11 day of remembrance, Trump said he was open to another debate with Harris if it is hosted by NBC or Fox News.
This latest development is yet another moment of ongoing drama related to Trump and debates. He originally backed out of the ABC presidential debate before finally agreeing to it on Aug. 8, but even after his agreement he continued to sow doubt about his participation. He also proposed two other debates: a Sept. 4 debate on Fox News (which turned into a Trump town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity) and a Sept. 25 debate on NBC News.
The Harris campaign did not agree to either but expressed that it was open to discuss more events after Tuesday’s debate.
Staff writers Julia Terruso and Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this article.