The previous US president’s response comes regardless of the Harris marketing campaign’s problem for an additional debate after her sturdy displaying.
This week’s presidential debate between former United States President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris was some of the watched occasions of the election season: The published attracted over 67 million viewers.
However on Thursday, Trump put the kibosh on the prospect of an encore, posting on the Fact Social platform: “THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!”
Trump had beforehand confronted off towards President Joe Biden on June 27, however issues surged over the 81-year-old’s age after the Democratic incumbent’s stumbling efficiency. Lower than a month later, Biden dropped out of the race and was swiftly changed by Harris.
A second debate had been deliberate for September 10, and regardless of the altering dynamics of the race, each Harris and Trump agreed to proceed with the scheduled occasion, which happened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
However after the controversy, pundits largely gave the edge to Harris, evaluating her extra polished efficiency with Trump’s rambling one.
“Below the intense lights, the American individuals bought to see the selection they’ll face this fall on the poll field: between shifting ahead with Kamala Harris or going backwards with Trump,” Jen O’Malley Dillon, the top of the Harris marketing campaign, mentioned on the time.
Harris’s camp shortly challenged Trump to a follow-up debate, searching for to construct on the momentum. Trump, nonetheless, rejected the chance in Thursday’s Fact Social publish. He additionally sought to reframe the aftermath of the controversy in his favour.
“When a prizefighter loses a battle, the primary phrases out of his mouth are, ‘I WANT A REMATCH,’” he wrote.
Trump articulated an identical sentiment within the minutes after the controversy itself. Chatting with reporters, the Republican candidate argued the problem solely got here as a result of Harris “misplaced”.
However on the contrary, political commentators from each events have broadly agreed that Harris had a stronger displaying within the debate than Trump.
It was the primary time Harris and Trump had ever met in individual, and the Democrat managed to goad her more and more irritated rival whereas producing a number of clip-ready moments of stifled laughter and sharp criticisms.
That got here regardless of each candidates dodging direct questions on a number of key coverage points.
Polls point out that US voters likewise really feel Harris got here out on prime within the debate. On Thursday, a survey from the information company Reuters and the market analysis agency Ipsos discovered that 53 p.c of voters who had at the least some data of the controversy felt that Harris gained. Simply 24 p.c mentioned the identical of Trump.
A CNN flash ballot launched shortly after the controversy additionally confirmed a majority of viewers felt Harris outperformed Trump, and a YouGov ballot confirmed 54 p.c of these surveyed mentioned Harris gained in contrast with 31 p.c for Trump.
Nonetheless, it stays unclear how significant the controversy can be for the November 5 election or whether or not the end result will join with undecided voters in key battleground states. Polls present the race stays neck and neck.
The Reuters/Ipsos ballot additionally discovered {that a} majority of registered voters surveyed are happy with having just one Harris-Trump debate.
Fifty-four p.c felt one debate was sufficient. In the meantime, 46 p.c mentioned they needed a second debate.
