Donald Trump has ruled out a second US presidential debate with rival Kamala Harris, hours after Fox News offered to host a candidate showdown later this month before election day on November 5. “It is very late in the process; (early) voting has already begun — there will be no rematch!” Trump said in an all-caps post on his Truth Social media platform. The Harris campaign quickly called for a rematch after the candidates’ September 10 meeting on ABC.
The Harris campaign said voters “got to see the real choice they will have at the ballot box: moving forward with Kamala Harris or going backward with Trump.” But the former California senator also needs to convince voters that she’s ready to be president, and she may need a chance to do so outside of her comfort zone inside a television studio, where moderators can press her for more detailed answers on her policies.
NBC News, which NBC Universal owns, has been in discussions with the Harris camp about hosting a debate on October 23 if both campaigns agree to it. A spokesman for Harris said Saturday that her campaign would accept the offer.
CNN has been discussing an Oct. 24 or 27 debate with the Harris and Trump camps. Both networks have been courting the candidates for several months.
While Harris has been reluctant to participate in additional debates, she has signaled her openness to debates with other Democratic contenders. She has participated in several town hall events this month. She’s also scheduled to appear with a number of her potential running mates on CNN on Tuesday and in a Fox News town hall on October 18.
At a rally in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, Trump indicated he might be willing to do another debate with Harris but only if he can be assured of moderators who are more aggressive about fact-checking both candidates and pressing them on specifics. During the first Harris-Trump debate, for example, CNN’s David Muir was able to dispel some of the racist rightwing conspiracy theories promoted by Trump and his campaign about black people in Springfield, Ohio.
The Harris campaign also wants the debate to focus on her promise to veto a national abortion ban if elected, which is an issue that has roiled Republicans. Trump has praised the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned the constitutional right to abortion, but the move was unpopular among many voters and his Democratic rivals.
A Harris campaign spokesperson told NBC News that the candidate will continue to campaign hard over the next few weeks, including barnstorming swing states in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Harris has been criticized for appearing walled off since becoming the nominee, but she has promised to ramp up her media appearances over the next few days. She’ll be in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Greensboro on Thursday before heading to Pittsburgh on Friday.