The TV debate between U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, held once on the 10th (local time), is unlikely to be held again.
On the 12th, former President Trump posted on the social networking service (SNS) Truth Social, stating, "Polls clearly show that I won the debate against Kamala Harris, the Democratic radical left candidate," and announced that there would be no further debates.
Former President Trump cited the massive influx of illegal immigrants and the inflation situation, claiming, "Everyone knows about the situation caused by Harris and Biden. This issue was thoroughly discussed in the first debate with Biden and the second debate with Harris."
Earlier, former President Trump had a TV debate with President Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate for this year's presidential election, in June. After President Biden withdrew amid age-related controversies, Vice President Harris, who became the presidential candidate, held a TV debate hosted by ABC on the 10th.
Former President Trump initially demanded two additional debates in September hosted by Fox News and NBC, in addition to the ABC debate, and Vice President Harris proposed additional debates immediately after the ABC debate ended.
Unlike the debate with President Biden, where former President Trump claimed a "complete victory," there are criticisms that he is avoiding additional debates after suffering a "decision loss" in the debate with Vice President Harris. In the debate held on the 10th, 63% of respondents (CNN survey) said Vice President Harris performed better, compared to 37% who said former President Trump performed better.
At a campaign rally in North Carolina that afternoon, Vice President Harris said regarding former President Trump's refusal to participate in additional debates, "We have an obligation to the voters to have another debate." She added, "On the night of the 10th, I spoke about issues I believe are important," but also said, "former President Trump did not present any plan," urging him to agree to additional debates.
Meanwhile, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, and Republican U.S. Senator J.D. Vance are scheduled to hold a TV debate hosted by CBS News in New York on the 1st of next month.
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