WASHINGTON — Former US President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has announced that he will not participate in another presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.
In a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, Trump on Thursday claimed that he won the debate hosted by ABC News in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, and accused Harris of refusing to accept debate invitations from Fox News, NBC News and CBS News.
In a post on social media platform X, Harris said on Thursday that "we owe it to the voters to have another debate."
Harris' campaign also claimed victory in the first debate between the two. "Vice President Harris commanded the stage on every single issue that matters to the American people," according to a statement released earlier.
A CNN poll of debate watchers showed that 63 per cent agreed that Harris turned in a better performance onstage in Philadelphia, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to Fox News, 12 voters on a panel thought Harris won the debate, while five believed Trump won. Many said that Trump did not know how to attack his new opponent in the presidential race.
A New York Times article noted that after the debate, many Democratic strategists and officials cheered Harris' performance, while Republicans complained about the "tenor of the questions" from the moderators and acknowledged Trump's "missed opportunities" to unleash focused attack lines.