Trump Definitively Closes Door on Second Debate

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

American voters have almost certainly seen the last (and only) debate between former president Donald Trump and Vice-President Kamala Harris. Though Harris has attempted to schedule a follow-up to September’s face-off, time is running out — and Trump has again indicated a lack of interest.

In an all-caps-laden post on Truth Social, Trump claimed he won the previous two debates he engaged in this year, one against Harris and the other against President Biden. He said there was no reason to hold a third. “THE FIRST THING A PRIZEFIGHTER DOES WHEN HE LOSES A FIGHT IS SAY THAT HE ‘DEMANDS A REMATCH.’ IT IS VERY LATE IN THE PROCESS, VOTING HAS ALREADY BEGUN - THERE WILL BE NO REMATCH!,” he wrote. It’s no surprise that Harris has remained open to a second debate: Postdebate polls overwhelmingly deemed the vice-president the winner in her first matchup with Trump.

Trump’s post appeared to be a response to two networks’ recent last-ditch efforts to schedule another debate with less than a month to go before Election Day. On Tuesday, CNN issued a final deadline of Thursday at noon for both candidates to accept its invitation for a showdown in Atlanta on October 28. “CNN sent invitations on September 21 to both Vice President Harris and former President Trump’s campaigns to participate in a CNN debate this fall as we believe the American people would benefit from a second debate between the two candidates for President of the United States,” the network said in a statement. Harris’s camp had previously agreed to the October CNN debate, but Trump consistently declined the invite. The Thursday deadline came and went with seemingly no movement from Trump’s side.

On Wednesday, Fox News made an offer of its own. It sent letters to both campaigns requesting that the candidates appear at a debate to be held in Pennsylvania on October 24 or 27. In the letter, Fox News president Jay Wallace and vice-president of politics Jessica Loker wrote, “This would present an opportunity for each candidate to make his or her closing arguments.”

Trump had previously pushed for a September debate on the conservative network, even knocking Harris for not agreeing to it. But he came out against Fox’s planned moderators for the debate, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, criticizing them during an interview on their own network shortly after his debate against Harris.

With a debate now officially off the table, CNN is inviting both Harris and Trump to participate in a live town hall with voters in Pennsylvania. The events will take place separately on October 23. The Harris campaign announced that they have accepted CNN’s invitation.