Trump says no to another debate with Kamala Harris

Former President Donald Trump has turned down another call from the Harris campaign to have a second debate before Election Day, Nov. 5.

He made the announcement shortly after the vice presidential nominees, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, squared off in their only debate Tuesday night.

“Lyin’ Kamala just put out a request for another Debate because they lost so badly tonight – Again, it’s like the fighter who lost, gets up and says, ’I WANT A REMATCH,’” Mr. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

“I beat Biden, I then beat her, and I’m not looking to do it again, too far down the line. Votes are already cast — And I’m leading BIG in the Polls,” he said. “I’LL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, she’s incapable of it.”

Harris-Walz campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said “Vice President Harris believes that the American people deserve to see her and Trump on the debate stage one more time.”

“She will be in Atlanta on Oct. 23 — Donald Trump should step up and face the voters,” she wrote.

The Harris campaign has pushed repeatedly for a second debate between Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump, but the former president has maintained that he won their debate on Sept. 10 — despite polls showing voters thought otherwise — and has refused to do another.

If they were to debate, it would be Ms. Harris’ second, while it would be Mr. Trump’s third, since he previously debated President Biden before he dropped out of the race in July.

Polls show that the presidential race is neck-and-neck nationally and in swing states.

A “538” average of polls shows Ms. Harris leading nationwide by 2.6 percentage points. The same poll aggregator shows that Ms. Harris leads by slim margins in states like Pennsylvania, Nevada and Wisconsin, while Mr. Trump has small leads in North Carolina, Georgia and Arizona.