Donald Trump, former president and Republican candidate for the White House, has announced that he will not agree to another debate with Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, claiming – contrary to the facts – that polls show he won Tuesday's duel and does not need another one.
Trump announced his decision in a post on his own social networking site, TRUTH Social.
“When a boxer loses a fight, the first words he says are, 'I want a rematch.' The polls clearly show that I won the debate with running mate Kamala Harris, the radical left Democratic candidate, and she immediately called for a second debate,” the Republican candidate wrote. “Kamala should focus on what she should have been doing for the last almost four years. There will be no third debate!” he added.
Trump accused Harris of rejecting previous offers to appear on Fox News, CBS and NBC, and emphasized that he had already discussed all the issues in detail during the two previous debates with Joe Biden and Harris.
Trump's Claims Contrary to Public Opinion Polls
Contrary to Trump's claims, all public opinion polls published so far have shown that voters overwhelmingly considered his rival the winner of Tuesday's duel in Philadelphia.
As reported on Thursday by The Hill, Republicans in Congress have been urging their candidate to agree to more debates, arguing that it would be a chance for him to better express his views, including on immigration. “It would make a lot of sense if instead of talking about immigrants eating cats and dogs, he talked about the 1.5 million (migrants – ed.) who have escaped the authorities,” said Senator Thom Tillis, referring to Trump's words during Tuesday's debate.
Trump, who had previously publicly invited Harris to host other debates, suggested immediately after the Philadelphia performance that he did not want to participate in any more, or that he would only agree to a debate hosted by publicists sympathetic to him. Harris' campaign immediately suggested another clash.
“Vice President Harris is ready for the second debate. What about Donald Trump?” the candidate's campaign account on X asked.
Main image source: JIM LO SCALZO/PAP/EPA