On Tuesday evening, Kamala Harris’s campaign departed Philadelphia, looking forward to another encounter with Donald Trump. The former president, who had previously shown interest in a second debate is now seemingly suggesting that there won’t be a second debate.
Despite receiving criticism for a disordered and factually challenged debate performance, Trump claimed on Wednesday morning that he had won over Harris. He argued that a new debate would simply provide the vice president with another opportunity to challenge him. “The first thing they did is ask for a debate because when a fighter loses, he says ‘I want a rematch,’” Trump said Wednesday morning on “Fox & Friends.”
RELATED: VP Kamala Harris, Joe Biden And Donald Trump Attend 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony In New York
When asked if he would do another debate the former president responded by saying; “I’d be less inclined to because we had a great night, we won the debate, we had a terrible network.” He added, “They should be embarrassed, they kept correcting me and what I said was largely right well I hope it was right but what she said was absolutely wrong and they refused to correct it, I even complained a couple of times.”
For a time, it was uncertain whether Harris and Trump would even share the stage, as disagreements about the timing, location, and format of their first debate persisted. The former president had pushed for several debates, suggesting one on Fox News for September 4, a proposal Harris dismissed. Trump then threatened to withdraw from the scheduled debate on ABC News, leading to further disputes over the rules, particularly regarding the contentious issue of whether microphones would be muted while one candidate spoke.
Harris’s team had advocated for unmuted microphones but eventually conceded. Even with her mic turned down, she attempted to interject during Trump’s speaking time. At one moment, Trump cut her off, remarking, “I’m talking now … does that sound familiar?” This comment alluded to a previous encounter in 2020 when Harris interrupted Mike Pence with the phrase, “Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking.”
“She wanted a moment like she did with Mike Pence,” Trump said Wednesday, “but I actually got that moment too, I won that too because she was talking while I was speaking quite a bit actually.”
Late on Tuesday, Harris’s campaign issued a statement advocating for a second debate. In response, Fox News proposed to host the event, which would be moderated by Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier. They suggested holding the debate on October 9 in Arizona, October 15 in Georgia, or October 16 in North Carolina, coinciding with the start of early in-person voting in several key battleground states.
“Seems like the American people would love another opportunity to see these candidates. It’s been such a short window and they deserve as many opportunities as possible,” MacCallum said during the network’s post-debate coverage. “We certainly hope they will take us up on that.”