Former President Donald Trump responded to Vice President Kamala Harris’ demand for a second debate during a North Carolina rally on Saturday.
In the weeks following the ABC News-hosted presidential debate that was plagued by biased moderators, the Harris Campaign has been pushing for a second debate. On Saturday, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported that Harris had “accepted” an invitation to another debate, which will mirror the June debate between Trump and President Biden if agreed to by Trump.
Harris soon confirmed the reports in an X post, stating that she will “gladly” accept the invitation.
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Trump has previously thrown cold water on the idea of a second debate, comparing the situation to a prizefighter who knows they lost and demands an immediate rematch. Trump feels confident that he won the first debate and stated that there is no need for a follow-up in a Truth Social post earlier this month.
He had left the door open to another match-up, however, telling reporters in Philadelphia last week that he could see another debate coming together if he is in the “right mood.”
“Kamala and her group have seen what’s happening to their campaign and it’s not going well for them. And they would like, just announced a little while ago as it was coming off the plane, they would like to do another debate. Although, good entertainment value,” Trump told his supporters on Saturday.
He went on to praise CNN’s handling of the June debate, calling their coverage and questions “fair.”
“They were very fair. In other words, they won’t be fair again, because they took a lot of abuse from the radical left. ABC was three on one, but I was given credit for having done a very, very good job. I appreciate that. We did a great job. It was three on one,” the former president continued.
The Republican nominee ultimately concluded that it is simply “too late” for another debate before Election Day, noting that early voting has already started in a number of states. He also noted that Harris refused to participate in a September debate hosted by Fox News, all while demanding that he agrees to two debates on a left-leaning, anti-Trump network in CNN.
“She’s had her chance to do it with Fox. You know, Fox invited us on and I waited and waited and they turned it down.They turned it down. But now she wants to do a debate right before the election with CNN because she’s losing badly,” Trump said.
“It’s like a fighter. She sees the polls, she sees what’s happening. She’s losing badly. But it’s like a fighter who goes into the ring and gets knocked out. The first thing he says is, ‘I want a rematch, I want a rematch.'”
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