Former President Runs in Fear After Defeat by Vice President Kamala Harris
Donald Trump continues to insist he won Tuesday night's debate against Vice President Kamala Harris — but not to the point where he's willing to do it again.
On Thursday, the former president posted a lengthy letter on Truth Social announcing that there would be no rematch between him and Harris.
Trump wrote: “The polls clearly show that I won the debate against Comrade Kamala Harris, the Radical Left Democrat nominee, Tuesday night, and I immediately called for a second debate. There will be no third debate!”
It’s not clear what polls the former president is consulting. CNN and YouGov instant polls showed Harris leading by a wide margin, and Trump’s party has struggled to control the damage from his erratic, angry ramblings on the debate stage.
Minutes after the broadcast ended, the Harris campaign challenged Trump to another debate. Trump made a surprise appearance in the campaign room after the debate, where he was bombarded with questions from reporters about what happened — and whether he would be willing to debate Harris again. “We thought it was the best debate we ever had — it was the best debate I ever had,” Trump told reporters. “She wants a second debate because she lost.”
But while Trump tried to reverse the Harris request and keep his threats to reject it in his Truth Social column on Thursday, his advisers are likely breathing a sigh of relief behind the scenes.
Rolling Stone Reported Wednesday who Trump's close allies believe that a re-debate would have been a “bad idea,” and that getting Trump to commit to another debate “wasn't a priority.”
Trump had previously expressed openness to participating in two more debates — one on Fox News and one on NBC News — but the presidential debate cycle for this election appears set to end at two. Vice presidential candidates J.D. Vance and Tim Walz are scheduled to debate in New York on Oct. 1.
