
Donald Trump on Wednesday (Oct 9) ruled out a second US presidential debate with political rival Kamala Harris. This comes just hours after Fox News offered to host a final debate before the November 5 election.
Despite earlier indications that another showdown might take place, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to dismiss the idea, citing the late stage of the election process and ongoing early voting.
"It is very late in the process, (early) voting has already begun— there will be no rematch!" Trump wrote in a signature all-caps post.
He also claimed to have won the last two debates, "ONE WITH CROOKED JOE, THE OTHER WITH LYIN’ KAMALA".
Trump further added that Harris had stated she would continue with President Joe Biden's policies "SO THERE IS NOTHING TO DEBATE".
Harris had previously challenged Trump to a debate hosted by CNN, set for October 23, but Trump declined. He also claimed Harris backed out of a previous Fox News debate offer, although her campaign had not publicly accepted the proposal.
"I ACCEPTED THE FOX NEWS INVITATION TO DEBATE KAMALA ON SEPTEMBER 4TH, BUT SHE TURNED IT DOWN."
The candidates did participate in one debate, held on September 10 and broadcast by ABC News, but plans for a second debate never materialised. Their running mates, Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz, had their own debate on October 1.
Fox News, still keen on hosting a second debate, sent letters to both campaigns on Wednesday, offering two potential dates: October 24 or October 27. Fox News Media President Jay Wallace framed the offer as a "one final pitch for a debate" giving the candidates "to make his or her closing arguments".
(With inputs from agencies)