Sept. 12 (UPI) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has rejected a second debate with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, the former president announced on his Truth Social media platform Thursday.
“KAMALA SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE DURING THE LAST ALMOST FOUR YEAR PERIOD. THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” Trump posted on Truth Social, referring to Tuesday’s debate against Harris and the June contest between Trump and President Joe Biden, a performance by the president that led to Biden dropping out of the race and ceding the nomination to Harris.
Not long after Tuesday’s debate ended, the Harris campaign called for another debate meeting, but Trump responded on social media Thursday by saying that he believed he won the debate, which is the reason he says Harris wants to schedule a rematch.
“When a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are, ‘I WANT A REMATCH,'” Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social.
Many public opinion polls after the debate showed that viewers gave Harris the edge in the contest. Later at a campaign rally in North Carolina, Harris challenged Trump to another round.
“Two nights ago, Donald Trump and I had our first debate,” she said during the North Carolina appearance.
“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.”
The Trump and Harris camps had been sparring over which network would host Tuesday’s debate. Trump originally pushed for the contest to be hosted by Fox News in early September and for a second contest to be held later in September on NBC.
Trump was not immediately open to the ABC News hosted event, citing what he says is a conflict of interest because of his ongoing defamation lawsuit against ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos.
Looking forward, Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon called for a second debate next month.
“Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?” Dillon said.
Trump retorted on social media:
“Why would I do a Rematch?” he wrote.
Vice presidential candidates, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen JD Vance, are set to face-off in the only scheduled debate between the two Oct.1.