Former President Trump said he will not participate in a third debate this election cycle, claiming victory after Tuesday’s showdown against Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Harris campaign on Tuesday after the debate said they would be interested in having another. But Trump was lukewarm to the idea, and on Thursday afternoon, he rejected the proposal completely.
“When a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are, ‘I WANT A REMATCH,’” Trump posted on his Truth Social account. “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.”
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Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, and Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, greet as they debate at The National Constitution Center on September 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Trump said Harris and President “Crooked Joe” Biden 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.”
“Everyone knows this, and all of the other problems caused by Kamala and Joe — it was discussed in great detail during the First Debate with Joe, and the Second Debate with Comrade Harris,” Trump said.
Trump participated in a town hall on Sept. 4 on Fox News, after Fox News invited the former president and Harris to debate.
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“She was a no-show at the Fox Debate, and refused to do NBC & CBS,” Trump continued. “Kamala should focus on what she should have done during the last almost four year period.”
He added: “THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!”
Former President Donald Trump said he will not participate in a third debate this election cycle, claiming victory after Tuesday’s showdown against Vice President Kamala Harris. He debated President Biden in June when he was the presumptive Democratic nominee. (Win McNamee)
Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump in June instantly fueled questions about his physical and mental abilities to serve another four years in the White House – and spurred a rising chorus of calls from within his own party for the 81-year-old president to end his bid for a second term.
Facing increased pressure from fellow Democrats, Biden, in a blockbuster announcement on July 21, ended his re-election campaign and endorsed Harris. She faced no opposition and quickly sewed up the nomination.
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US Vice President Kamala Harris during the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump and Harris faced off in a heated debate Tuesday night, sparring about abortion, immigration, Israel, the economy and a range of other issues—but Trump also battled the ABC News moderators, who were quick to challenge and “fact check” the 45th president, while leaving Harris’ distortions untouched.
Shortly after it concluded, Trump told Fox News Digital that he thought it was his “best debate ever, especially because it was three on one.” A CNN flash poll afterward found a majority of watchers thought Harris won the debate. The majority of a Fox News Digital focus group also gave Harris the victory, although the Democrat took criticism for continuing to sound evasive on major issues.
On the heels of Tuesday’s ABC debate, FOX News Media executives sent a letter to the Harris and Trump campaigns offering to host another debate, with Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum as moderators.
Fox News Digital’s Brian Flood contributed to this report.