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11-10-2024
WASHINGTON: Republican former President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will not debate Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, hours after Fox News invited the two presidential contenders to participate in a possible second debate on either Oct. 24 or Oct. 27.
Trump and Harris debated each other for the first time on Sept. 10. Trump has said there would not be another debate before the Nov. 5 election. He rejected a past invitation from CNN for an Oct. 23 debate, accepted by Harris.
Trump and Harris face each other in what polls show to be a tight race for the Nov. 5 US elections.
In its statement, Fox said a second debate “would present an opportunity for each candidate to make their closing arguments.”
Last week, Harris’ running mate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz debated Trump’s running mate and U.S. Senator JD Vance.
“THERE WILL BE NO REMATCH,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. “SO THERE IS NOTHING TO DEBATE.”
Trump said it was very late in the process now to have a debate.
Trump faced then-Democratic presidential candidate and US President Joe Biden in a debate in late June.
Biden stepped aside as presidential candidate less than a month after the disastrous performance. Trump had built a lead against Biden following the debate but Harris took over as candidate after Biden bowed out and her entry has tightened the race, with some polls showing she has a narrow lead.
In their Sept. 10 debate, Harris put Trump on the defensive with a stream of attacks on his fitness for office, his support of abortion restrictions and his myriad legal woes.
Last month, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump remain deadlocked less than seven weeks before the Nov. 5 US presidential election, according to new polls released on Thursday that also show a tight race in the key state of Pennsylvania.
While the surveys found likely and registered voters gave higher marks to Democrat Harris in last week’s debate with her Republican opponent, they showed the race particularly in the battleground state remains close, in line with other polling.
In the national poll, Harris and Trump were tied at 47% among the 2,437 likely voters polled Sept. 11-16, according to a survey by The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena College. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
In Pennsylvania, one of seven critical battleground states, Harris maintained her 4-point advantage, leading 50% to 46% with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points, according to the Times poll.
Separate findings by The Washington Post also found a tight race between the candidates in the state, which is among those along with Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Wisconsin that are seen as likely to determine November’s outcome.
Among 1,003 Pennsylvania likely and registered voters surveyed Sept. 12 -16, 48% said they would vote for Harris while 47% said they would cast their ballot for Trump, a 1- point difference that falls within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
The majority of those polled told the Post they were “extremely motivated” to vote and that protecting American democracy was “extremely important” but voters were split on which candidate best would protect the nation’s freedoms, with 48% choosing Harris and 45% choosing Trump. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
