US media reports say Republican nominee Donald Trump stated yesterday he would not participate in another presidential debate against Kamala Harris ahead of the November 5 election, after several polls showed his Democratic rival won their debate earlier this week.
Reuters reports that the former president wrote on media social site Truth Social. "THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!"
Reuters noted yesterday that Trump had participated in a debate against President Joe Biden in June before his debate against Harris on Tuesday.
Six Republican donors and three Trump advisers who spoke to Reuters earlier this week said they thought Harris had won the debate largely because Trump was unable to stay on message.
According to Nielsen data, the debate attracted 67.1 million television viewers.
“We just don’t think it’s necessary. We had the two,” Trump said of his decision, apparently referencing his June debate against President Joe Biden, during an interview Thursday with Telemundo Arizona, which is owned by NBC Universal.
“We think we’ve discussed everything. We don’t think they want it either," he added, suggesting that Harris should "go out and run the country properly instead of worrying about a debate."
Trump’s remarks come just two days after he and Harris met in Philadelphia for a prime-time debate sponsored by ABC News.
Harris reportedly said at a rally in North Carolina on Thursday that she and Trump "owe" voters another debate.
“Two nights ago, Donald Trump and I had our first debate, and I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate, because this election and what is at stake could not be more important,” Harris said, according to NBC News.
