Former President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he will not participate in a third presidential debate against Kamala Harris. His decision comes after several polls showed Harris outperforming him in their recent debate earlier this week. “THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” Trump posted on Truth Social, following his debates with President Joe Biden in June and Harris on Tuesday.
While Trump praised his own performance in the Harris debate, several key Republican donors and advisers expressed that Harris maintained stronger control of the conversation. Nielsen reported that 67.1 million people tuned in for the debate.
Kamala Harris, responding at a rally, expressed her disappointment, stating, “I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate.”
Despite Trump’s claims of winning the debate, a Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that 53% of voters believed Harris performed better, compared to 24% siding with Trump. CNN and YouGov also showed similar results, with a majority of respondents agreeing that Harris had the upper hand.
A significant portion of voters (54%) felt that the single debate between the two was sufficient, while 46% would have preferred a second round. Regardless, Trump has made it clear that no further debates will take place.