Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts in the spin room, on the day of his debate with Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 10, 2024.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Thursday said there will not be another debate against his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The former president in a Truth Social post claimed that he won his first debate against Harris on Tuesday night. He cited as evidence the fact that Harris’ campaign had challenged him to another debate shortly after the first one ended.
In fact, numerous conservative commentators and some of Trump’s own supporters have said Harris outperformed him.
But Trump in Thursday’s post wrote, “When a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are, ‘I WANT A REMATCH.'”
“Polls clearly show that I won the Debate against Comrade Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ Radical Left Candidate, on Tuesday night, and she immediately called for a Second Debate,” Trump wrote.
Multiple post-debate polls actually show audiences by a sizable margin believe Harris won.
The showdown in Philadelphia was Trump’s second presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle. He debated in late June against President Joe Biden, who performed so badly that he ultimately withdrew his reelection bid and endorsed Harris as his replacement.
Trump in his Truth Social post wrote, “KAMALA SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE DURING THE LAST ALMOST FOUR YEAR PERIOD. 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 believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate, because this election and what is at stake could not be more important.”
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