Trump shuts the door on another debate after final pitch from networks

Former President Trump on Wednesday made clear there would be no second debate between him and Vice President Harris in the closing weeks of the campaign, seemingly shutting the door for good on the prospect as media outlets made final proposals.

“It is very late in the process, voting has already begun - there will be no rematch!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Besides, Kamala stated clearly, yesterday, that she would not do anything different than Joe Biden, so there is nothing to debate.”

In explaining his decision, Trump repeated his claim that he had won his debate on Sept. 10 with Harris, though polling and criticism from some Republicans indicated that was not the case. 

He also cited Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) performance in the vice presidential debate against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), and he claimed that he was leading “in all swing states,” though polling shows a neck and neck race in all seven battlegrounds likely to determine the outcome of November’s election.

Trump’s post on Truth Social came after CNN told candidates they had until Thursday to accept an invitation for an Oct. 23 debate. Harris has already accepted the invitation.

Fox News on Wednesday issued an invitation for the candidates to attend a debate hosted by the network on either Oct. 24 or Oct. 27 moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.

Harris and her campaign have for weeks pushed for a second debate with Trump, with the vice president insisting voters deserve to hear more from the candidates before Election Day, but Trump has repeatedly rejected the idea of doing another debate with the vice president.