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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump announced yesterday that he would not hold a new debate with his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“There will be no third debate,” the former US president said, referring to his televised debate with President Joe Biden in June and his debate Tuesday with the vice president.
The Democratic nominee put Trump on the defensive during the ABC News-hosted showdown, which was watched by 67 million people. Her campaign has already called for a second debate in October.
The day after the debate, Trump said he was “ready for NBC and ready for Fox,” before announcing in his post that he was backing down, saying Harris wanted a second chance to make amends.
Trump said on his social media account: “The polls clearly show that I won the debate against Comrade Kamala Harris, the radical left Democrat candidate, on Tuesday night, and she immediately called for a second debate.”
“When a professional boxer loses a match, the first words out of his mouth are ‘I want a rematch,'” he added.
A CNN poll of viewers showed Harris performing better than Trump by 63% to 37%, while a YouGov poll showed Harris proposing a clearer governing plan by 43% to 32%.
CBS News is scheduled to host a debate between vice presidential candidates, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, on Oct. 1.
