Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts in the Spin Room on the day of his debate with Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 10, 2024.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday that there would be no further debate against his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The former president claimed in a Truth Social post that he won his first debate against Harris on Tuesday night, citing as proof the fact that Harris’ campaign challenged him to another debate shortly after the first debate ended.
In fact, numerous conservative commentators and some of Trump’s own supporters said Harris had outperformed him.
But Trump wrote in his post on Thursday: “When a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are, ‘I WANT A REMATCH.'”
“The polls clearly show that I won Tuesday night’s debate against Comrade Kamala Harris, the radical left Democratic candidate, and she immediately demanded a second debate,” Trump wrote.
In fact, several polls after the debate show that viewers believe Harris will win by a significant margin. Following the debate, Trump and his allies attacked the host network ABC News, accusing moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis of political bias.
The showdown in Philadelphia was Trump’s second presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle. In late June, he debated President Joe Biden, who performed so poorly that he eventually withdrew his re-election bid and endorsed Harris as his successor.
Trump in his Truth Social The post said: “KAMALA SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST ALMOST FOUR YEARS. 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 think we owe it to the voters to have another debate because this election and what’s at stake couldn’t be more important.”
The two presidential candidates, Republican Senator JD Vance of Ohio and Democratic Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, will meet for their only vice presidential debate on October 1.
Since Harris took over the Democratic nomination list, campaign teams have been publicly arguing about the schedule of the debates.
Trump had previously tried to get Harris to agree to a debate on Fox News in early September. He also once said he would be ready for another debate on NBC News on September 25. Harris’ campaign did not immediately agree to that debate.
Trump had long hesitated over whether to participate in a debate moderated by ABC, claiming that his ongoing defamation lawsuit against broadcaster and moderator George Stephanopoulos created a “conflict of interest.”
The campaign teams also clashed over debate rules, with Harris’ team pushing in vain to keep both candidates’ microphones on even when it wasn’t their turn to respond.
On Tuesday evening, Trump and Harris faced each other for the first and possibly only time.
Shortly after the debate ended, Harris’ campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon called for a second debate in October.
“Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is it Donald Trump?” she said.
Trump declared that he had won the debate, but quickly raised doubts about whether he would agree to another round.
In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, he wrote: “Why would I participate in a rematch?”
