WASHINGTON — Donald Trump, whose campaign has insisted on negotiating terms first, has publicly accepted numerous invitations from Kamala Harris to try to get her to talk, now he is doubtful whether he will agree to another face-to-face meeting with his Democratic rival. .
Minutes after leaving the debate stage Tuesday night in a performance that some Republicans felt rushed, Trump began to play down the idea of participating in another debate — a departure from earlier talk that he was open to several debates. it was Harris who was hiding.
Trump’s campaign said before the debate that he had already accepted debate invitations from Fox News and NBC News, while Harris had not. But in post-debate interviews, Trump was indecisive. He claimed the victory at Truth Social, saying, “Why would I have a rematch?”
“When you win a debate, I don’t know if I want to have another debate,” the former president told Fox News on Wednesday morning.
Trump hailed the first debate of the season against Joe Biden as a resounding success — Republicans said he showed restraint, but Biden’s performance ultimately led to his sidelining. Fresh off a perceived victory, pushing Harris into several debates appeared to be a strategic goal for Trump, and Harris turned down a request on Fox News in early September.
But Tuesday night’s debate didn’t go as well as the previous encounter.
“He was very well prepared. He set traps, and instead of talking about what he needed to talk about, he chased every rabbit down every hole,” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Trump ally and critic, told ABC News in an interview after the debate. .
Trump’s allies, who were more defensive of his performance, dismissed criticism that he conducted a poor debate, blaming the moderators. One said the highlight of the evening was the final minute of the closing statement. Trump told reporters Tuesday that if it was run by a “fair” network, he might consider something else.
Harris has not accepted a second debate with Trump, but his campaign appeared more open on Wednesday.
“It was fun,” spokesperson Brian Fallon wrote on X. “Let’s do it again in October.”
It would be against modern historical precedent that candidates could not meet for more than one debate.
Trump’s campaign warned in a pre-debate call that Tuesday’s showdown could be the “only debate” between Trump and Harris, putting the onus on Harris.
Now Trump’s campaign has said it is waiting for him to make a final decision.
“We accepted Fox, they rejected it. We accepted ABC, they talked about the rules and finally agreed. We accepted NBC on September 25th, and they rejected it,” Trump’s senior adviser Brian Hughes told NBC News on Wednesday. “So President Trump said he would determine that later.” (An NBC News spokeswoman did not respond when asked if the network’s invitation was still in place and who had accepted.)
Hughes said Harris “missed the moment” and still hasn’t factored in his record at the White House, which he said is part of his team’s enthusiasm for the rematch.
“But the most important indicator here is Harris’s inability to explain why he doesn’t do the things he claims to care about. Almost 4 years of unlucky record is evident and he couldn’t escape having it,” said Hughes. “He missed the moment and lost, so it’s no surprise that his team is scrambling to try things out.”
Eric Levine, a New York Republican fundraiser, said on Tuesday that Trump should return to the debate stage to squeeze better answers from his opponent after moderators failed to do so.
“He missed opportunity after opportunity to fire him,” Levine said.
Still, Levine said he appreciates the challenge ahead of Trump if they meet again. “He’s like a hologram. “Getting substance from it is like trying to nail jelly to a wall,” he added.