Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris debate for the first time during the presidential election campaign at The National Constitution Center on September 10, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After earning the Democratic Party nomination following President Joe Biden’s decision to leave the race, Harris faced off with Trump in what may be the only debate of the 2024 race for the White House. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, has agreed to participate in a town hall with CNN on Oct. 23 in Pennsylvania, her campaign said Thursday.
The date was originally scheduled to be a second debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee, but after a debate with Harris last month, Trump said he would not do any additional debates. He reiterated that stance in an all-caps social media post on Wednesday, saying he “won the last two debates” with President Joe Biden and Harris, and had accepted an invitation from Fox News for a debate in September, which Harris declined.
“The first thing a prizefighter does when he loses a fight is say that he ‘demands a rematch,’” Trump posted. “It is very late in the process, voting has already begun – there will be no rematch.”
Jen O’Malley Dillon, Harris-Walz campaign chairperson, said in a statement that Trump’s refusal to debate Harris again was “a disservice to the American people” and accused him of preferring to “cocoon himself in safe spaces” by doing interviews with conservative media.
“Trump may want to hide from the voters, but Vice President Harris welcomes the opportunity to share her vision for a New Way Forward for the country,” O’Malley Dillon said. “She is happy to accept CNN’s invitation for a live, televised town hall on October 23 in Pennsylvania.”
The September debate between Harris and Trump in Philadelphia was contentious, with each candidate attempting to portray the other as extreme and bad for the country. During the debate with Biden and Trump in June, Biden stumbled over his words and appeared confused, leading many in the Democratic Party to urge him to step aside. He did so on July 21, and immediately endorsed Harris.
Recent polling shows Harris and Trump in a virtual tie in Pennsylvania. The state’s 19 electoral votes make it a must-win for either candidate to win the White House.