Trump says he won’t debate Harris again before election

Former President Donald Trump appeared to close the door to another debate on Thursday, declaring on social media and later at a campaign event that the first two covered enough ground.

“We’ve done two debates and because they were successful, there will be no third debate,” Trump said in Tucson.

Trump has defended his performance since the debate on Tuesday, even as some allies and campaign aides have conceded privately that the evening did not go as they had hoped. While Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign immediately called for a second debate, Trump questioned the need for a rematch, insisting that he’d won. Polls however largely show that Trump lost the debate.

Harris, who spoke at a campaign rally in Charlotte on Thursday, proposed a second debate: “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,” she said.

She argued that she had spoken about issues Americans care about, “like bringing down the cost of living, investing in America, small businesses, protecting reproductive freedom and keeping our nation safe and secure.” Trump, she added, shared no plans for addressing the needs of the American people because “it’s all about him, it’s not about you.”

Trump said on social media and during the rally that the Biden-Harris administration’s record on illegal immigration and inflation was clear. He also insisted that he won the debate against Harris and criticized ABC News, which hosted the event.

In Arizona, Trump said the moderators, who fact-checked him or clarified his statements five times, “were bad news.” The moderators did not issue any fact checks for statements made by Harris.

The Trump campaign has encouraged others to say publicly that the Republican nominee dominated the debate. Privately though, many campaign aides acknowledge it was not his best night.

During the debate, Harris repeatedly goaded Trump, including on crowd sizes at his rallies, adding that his supporters often leave early out of boredom. That exchange led to Trump defending his rallies before repeating a false claim that immigrants in Ohio are eating other residents’ pets – an online rumor local officials have denied.

“People said that I was angry at the debate,” Trump said. “They said he’s an angry person. No they’re destroying our country.” He then proceeded to mock and imitate Harris’ smile.

Trump advisers said on Tuesday that they wanted another debate. In the spin room, spokesman Brian Hughes said the campaign had wanted a debate on NBC News later this month. One sign that Trump might’ve thought Harris performed better in the debate was that he visited the spin room to address reporters immediately afterward. After the last debate, he decided he did so well that he didn’t need to go to the spin room. Trump previously proposed debating Harris on Fox News and NBC News.

“I don’t think it was a good performance for him, so I can understand why he says let’s not do another one,” said Marc Short, who was chief of staff to former vice president Mike Pence. “But I could also see him changing his mind.”

Harris tried on Thursday to build on the momentum from her debate performance in Philadelphia, taking her campaign to North Carolina as she set her sights on a state that has been an elusive target for Democrats since Barack Obama won it in 2008.

In Charlotte and later in Greensboro, Harris unveiled her new slogan – “A New Way Forward” – to amplify her argument that she would offer a “new generation of leadership” after a decade dominated by Trump’s divisive politics.

Still, polls have shown that Harris is struggling to present herself as the candidate of “change” as a sitting vice president who has championed the policies of President Joe Biden during the past 3½ years in the White House. The Trump campaign has criticized Harris’s debate performance as lacking policy specifics.

In an attempt to prove she’s a candidate who can provide change, Harris argued in Charlotte and during Tuesday’s debate that she would restore Americans’ sense of optimism and improve their everyday lives. On the flip side, Trump has a far more negative view of the country and is fixated on himself, her new ad released this week states.

In Charlotte, huge signs bearing Harris’s “A New Way Forward” slogan were hanging from the ceiling flanked by giant American flags. Many sections of the arena were draped in red, white and blue bunting. Many in the predominantly female crowd wore green stickers – a nod to “Brat” summer – that said “We’re not going back.”

In Arizona, a few hundred supporters stood outside even after Trump had started speaking inside. There was no screening of the rally outside but groups of supporters huddled while streaming it on their phones to listen.

Organizers walked through the crowds of people to check if everyone was registered to vote. And vendors continued to sell Trump gear throughout the rally. Turning Point Action also had a booth set up outside the rally, with signs that read: “Commie Kamala” and Biden’s name spelled out “Biggest Idiot Democrats Ever Nominated.”