Former President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will not participate in any future debates against Vice President Kamala Harris.
“There will be no debate,” he said in all caps on Truth Social, before criticizing the vice president’s debate performance. “You heard the man,” said Carolyn Leavitt, who asked NBC News to clarify Trump’s remarks.
His comments come just two days after he and Harris met for an ABC News-sponsored debate in Philadelphia.
The two sparred on inflation, abortion and immigration, and Trump made several false or misleading statements that were scrutinized live by moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. His use of conspiracy theories and inflammatory statements caused concern among his allies.
After the debate, Trump claimed the moderators were unfair and did not commit to whether he would engage in another matchup with Harris.
The two candidates have not officially agreed to any other debates, but multiple networks have said they are in talks to schedule another debate.
In multiple TruthSocial posts, Trump said he was considering debate bids from Fox, CBS and NBC. Last month, NBC confirmed that they had proposed September 25 as a potential date for the debate on the network.
During an interview with Fox and Friends on Wednesday, host Steve Doocy said the network offered the Trump and Harris campaigns three potential dates for an additional debate in October on Tuesday night. In response, Trump said: “Well, I wouldn’t want Martha to be [MacCallum] and Brett [Baier]. I would love to have someone other than Martha and Brett.
Fox News there was earlier suggested debate MacCallum and Baier hosted the Harris and Trump campaigns on September 4, but that date passed without either campaign agreeing to meet on stage.
An NBC representative declined to comment. Representatives for CBS and Fox did not immediately respond to requests for comment
Asked for comment, the Harris campaign pointed to what Harris said Thursday in North Carolina: “I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate because this election and what’s at stake could not be more important.”