On Saturday, Harris accepted an offer from CNN to have a debate on Oct. 23.
“I will gladly accept a second presidential debate on October 23. I hope realdonaldtrump will join me,” she wrote on social media.
Asked by reporters what message she would send to Trump, Harris said, “Join me on the debate stage. Let’s have another debate. There’s more to talk about. The voters deserve to hear conversations on substance, issues, and policies.”
Later that same day, Trump declined the offer and insulted Harris at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina.
“The problem with another debate is that it's just too late, voting has already started,” Trump said. “Now she wants to do a debate right before the election with CNN because she's losing badly.” Trump then compared Harris to a fighter who calls for a rematch after getting knocked out.
But it was Trump who got knocked down in his earlier debate with the vice president.
Polling taken in the immediate aftermath of the debate showed an overwhelming majority of voters—63% to 37% in a CNN-SSRS poll—saying Harris was the victor. Harris has also polled ahead of Trump nationally in multiple polls taken since the debate.
In addition to polling, Trump’s debate performance has also come under fire. He was fact checked in real time by debate moderator David Muir for his lie that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, are “eating the dogs, eating the cats.” Subsequent fact checks have pointed out that Trump’s repetition of the claim perpetuates harmful racial stereotypes of Black people.
In an interview with reporters in front of the National Association of Black Journalists, Harris condemned Trump’s remarks and said they were disqualifying for someone seeking the presidency.
The comments were also mocked by many on social media like TikTok.
Trump’s excuse for avoiding the debate doesn’t hold water. In 2020 when he was running against President Joe Biden, the two candidates debated on Oct. 22, after early voting had already begun.
Trump’s decision to curtail his debates is in line with his campaign’s lack of enthusiasm. Trump has held far fewer rallies in the 2024 election cycle than he did in 2016, according to an analysis published by Axios. Between June and September of 2016, Trump held 72 rallies. In the current year, he has only held 24.
Harris and her campaign have taken note of Trump rally audiences yawning and leaving early out of boredom with the candidate’s rants.
That may be translating into problems for Trump on the ground. Republican activists in swing states have told news outlets like the Associated Press that they have seen few signs of campaign activities like door knocking and other in-person campaigning.
Of course, that may also be Trump’s own fault. “Literally the first thing Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump did after the former president’s takeover of the Republican National Committee in late April was fire everyone in its field operation, and scrap plans to open 40 field offices in the battleground states.”
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