Former President Trump announced on Thursday that he will not participate in the third presidential debate, rejecting the call to face off again on the debate stage against the Democratic 2024 presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris.
In a post on his social media platform “Truth Social,” Trump wrote, “When a professional boxer loses a match, the first thing he says is, ‘I want a rematch.'”
Trump went on to say that “the polls clearly show” he won the television debate against Harris on Tuesday night, and that she immediately requested another debate.
Following the conclusion of the second presidential debate of the election cycle in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harris’s campaign team immediately called for another debate with Trump, claiming Harris was ready.
At that time, Trump did not respond, but in his Thursday post, he wrote, “She did not show up at the Fox debate and refused to participate in debates hosted by NBC and CBS. Harris should focus on what she should have done in the past nearly four years of her term. There will be no third debate!”
The Tuesday presidential debate was controversial, with many polls showing Harris as the winner, but many others showing Trump as the winner, and criticizing the two ABC moderators for favoring Harris during the debate. However, the general consensus is that Harris performed exceptionally well in her first direct confrontation with Trump since becoming the Democratic candidate at the end of July.
Prior to this, Trump had participated in debates held by Fox News in early September and NBC at the end of September. However, Harris’s campaign team stated that the next debate would depend on both candidates participating in the debate hosted by ABC.
Since Harris refused to participate in the Fox News debate, Trump changed the event scheduled for September 4th to a town hall event hosted by Sean Hannity in battleground state of Pennsylvania.