Following the first debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Trump has announced that there will be no more debates.
The highly anticipated 2024 election debate on Tuesday, which took place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, was hosted by ABC News and moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis. The event was filled with sharp exchanges between the two candidates, both of whom are vying for the nation’s top office in the upcoming election. While Harris focused on defending the current administration’s policies, Trump seized the opportunity to hammer home that the Biden-Harris administration has failed the country on issues like border security and the economy.
On Thursday, Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to declare his victory in the debate and to address future plans. In a post that quickly went viral, Trump 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.”
In his post, Trump claimed Harris was eager for a second debate but criticized her performance and the policies of the Biden-Harris administration. “She and Crooked Joe have destroyed our Country, with millions of criminals and mentally deranged people pouring into the USA, totally unchecked and unvetted, and with inflation bankrupting our Middle Class,” Trump wrote.
The former president went on to accuse Harris of dodging debates in the past, specifically mentioning her absence at a previous Fox News-hosted event. He used the post to emphasize his unwillingness to engage in any future debates with her. “THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” Trump wrote in all caps.
Harris’ team initially requested an additional debate following the vice president’s face-off with Trump at ABC’s presidential debate. Trump’s statement comes as no surprise to many, given his history of criticizing the debate process, moderators, and media outlets. Throughout his political career, Trump has frequently expressed his dissatisfaction with the format and fairness of debates, often accusing the media of bias.
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Trump referred to the ABC-hosted debate as a “rigged deal” and claimed he did “great” despite the odds being “3-to-1.”
Trump said Wednesday on “Fox & Friends” that he “probably” won’t participate in another debate with the network. He dismissed Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier, offering Fox opinion hosts Sean Hannity, Jesse Watters, and Laura Ingraham in their place. Fox News had proposed scheduling a debate in October, aligning with the start of early in-person voting in several battleground states. The proposal floated October 9 in Arizona, October 15 in Georgia, and October 16 in North Carolina.
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Both campaigns declared victory after Tuesday’s showdown, where Harris avoided addressing questions about the Biden administration’s record and her own previous stances. With Trump drawing a line in the sand on debates, the spotlight now shifts to the campaign trail. Both Harris and Trump will continue to crisscross the country in the coming months, holding rallies, town halls, and other events aimed at energizing their respective bases.
