Former President Trump once again refused the proposal for a second debate with Vice President Harris on Tuesday evening, October 1st, stating that he “doesn’t want to debate anymore.” The two vice presidents had already faced off before this.
For weeks, Harris and her campaign team had been pushing for a second debate with Trump. Immediately after the vice-presidential debate between Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Senator JD Vance, they made this request again.
The chair of Harris’s campaign team, Jen O’Malley Dillon, stated in a press release, “Vice President Harris believes that the American people should see her and Trump on the same stage again. She will be in Atlanta on October 23rd, and Donald Trump should step up to face the voters,” mentioning Harris’s agreement to participate in a debate hosted by CNN.
Despite Harris’s team’s efforts, Trump repeatedly refused the idea of another debate with the Vice President, insisting that he had won the September 10th showdown, although some polls indicated otherwise. He also argued that with early voting already underway, holding another debate would be too late.
Writing on “Truth Social,” Trump said, “I defeated Biden, then defeated her, I don’t want to do it anymore, it’s too late, the ballots have already been cast, and I’m leading by a significant margin in the polls. I can make America great again, and she can’t!”
A poll released on Wednesday, October 2nd, by the Cook Political Report shows Harris leading Trump in five out of seven key states, with leads within 3 percentage points. Currently, Harris is ahead in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, while Trump holds a 2-point lead in Georgia. The poll found both candidates neck and neck in North Carolina.
The nationwide poll by the Hill/Decision Desk HQ shows Harris leading by 4.5 percentage points, with a 50.3% vote share, while former President Trump has a 45.8% vote share.
The first and only vice-presidential debate of 2024 was hosted by CBS on Tuesday, where Vance and Walz engaged in a debate. There were constant clashes during the debate, but the atmosphere was friendly, with both candidates speaking candidly and courteously, maintaining a structured debate.
Vance strongly defended former President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy during the debate, while Walz sometimes stumbled while defending his running mate, Vice President Harris, and President Biden’s joint leadership policies.
Vance’s outstanding performance in the debate earned him uncommon praise from liberal media. Among thirteen columnists and writers surveyed by The New York Times, nine believed Vance won the debate. In a post-debate CNN poll, Vance edged out with a slight 2% lead.
(This article referenced reports from The Hill.)