On October 9, Donald Trump said he would not participate in a second U.S. presidential debate with Kamala Harris only hours after Fox News showed interest in hosting one last debate before the November 5 election.
Where initially there had been indications that a rematch might be in the works, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to flatly rule out that prospect. “IT IS VERY LATE IN THE PROCESS; (EARLY) VOTING HAS ALREADY BEGUN — THERE WILL BE NO REMATCH!” Trump, seeming indignant, wrote in an all-caps post.
He had also declared victory in the two preceding debates: “ONE WITH CROOKED JOE, THE OTHER WITH LYIN’ KAMALA.” Trump continued by saying that Harris had said she would push forward with the policies of President Joe Biden, adding, “SO THERE IS NOTHING TO DEBATE.”
In a series of tweets during the week of October 10, Harris called on Trump to a debate set for October 23, hosted by CNN, but he declined the invitation. Trump added that Harris “had accepted an offer from Fox News to debate on September 4th, and then she backed out,” which her campaign did not publicly confirm accepting the offer in the first place. “I ACCEPTED THE FOX NEWS INVITATION TO DEBATE KAMALA ON SEPTEMBER 4TH, BUT SHE TURNED IT DOWN,” he said.
The candidates held one debate on September 10 via ABC News, but an announced second debate never occurred. Their lieutenant governor candidates, Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz, debated on October 1.
However, though Trump was resistant, Fox News remained interested in hosting a second debate. He reached out to both campaigns with two possible dates: Oct. 24 or Oct. 27. Fox News Media President Jay Wallace framed the offer as a “one final pitch for a debate,” giving the candidates a chance to make their closing arguments.
