Donald Trump has ruled out another presidential debate against his rival Kamala Harris before the November election.
Gatekeepers News reports that Trump claimed he “clearly” won the first debate and that Harris only wanted a rematch because of his victory.
“When a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are ‘I want a rematch’,” Trump wrote in a lengthy Truth Social post. “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.”
Harris responded by saying they “owe” voters another debate because “what is at stake could not be more important”. The Harris campaign called for a second debate immediately after the first one and continued to do so on Thursday.
“Vice-President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?” the campaign said.
Trump’s decision contradicts earlier messaging from his own campaign, which had reportedly been in discussions over a debate on NBC News on 25 September. The network has not commented on Trump’s latest statement.
Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, told the BBC that Trump’s decision was a “double favour” to the Harris campaign. “Voters will have a lasting impression of Kamala Harris as looking presidential and standing on their side,” he said.
Jeremy Petersen, an independent voter from Utah, told the BBC that he was not surprised by Trump’s decision. “If [Trump] doesn’t feel like he can score some social media soundbites, there’s no benefit for him to show up,” said Petersen.
