Trump Declines Second Debate Following Harris' Strong Performance

Former President Donald Trump said Thursday he won't have another debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, getting criticism from Democrats after he had a hard time during Tuesday's face-off.

Trump made his announcement in a Truth Social post, blaming both Harris and President Joe Biden; Trump and Biden debated on June 27 before Biden left the race and Harris became the top candidate.

"KAMALA SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE DURING THE LAST ALMOST FOUR YEAR PERIOD. THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!" Trump said.

Harris had a calm response, telling supporters at a campaign stop in North Carolina "we owe it to the voters to have another debate." Harris' campaign asked for another Trump-Harris debate just minutes after the Tuesday debate ended.

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Other Democrats said Trump was upset because polls showed that Harris won Tuesday's contest easily. A CNN/SSRS poll found debate watchers 63% to 37% said that Harris did better on stage during in Philadelphia.

Looking at three national polls and one swing-state poll, ABC News/538 reported that "57 percent of debate watchers nationally said Harris did the better job; only 34 percent said Trump did."

In his Truth Social post, Trump mentioned other polls saying he won the debate with Harris, but he seemed to be talking about online surveys where people choose to respond themselves.

During a rally Thursday in Tucson, Ariz. - his first campaign event since the debate - Trump spent a lot of time defending how he did, criticizing the ABC News moderators, and attacking Harris (and Biden) about economic and immigration issues.

Trump had been unsure about whether he'd do another debate before making his announcement Thursday.

"When a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are, "I WANT A REMATCH," Trump claimed.

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Trump's opponents quickly spoke out against his decision.

Charlotte Clymer, a writer and Democratic strategist, said that "let's be clear: Donald Trump got badly beaten by Vice President Harris in that debate. She immediately agreed to a second debate. He has now said no to a second debate. Trump is a coward."