Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, has agreed to participate in an Oct. 23 town hall with CNN in Pennsylvania, her campaign announced Thursday.
It was originally scheduled to be the second debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee, but after last month’s debate with Harris, Trump said he would not hold any additional debates. He repeated this position in the above-mentioned social media post in all caps on Wednesdayclaiming he “won the last two debates” against President Joe Biden and Harris and accepted an invitation from Fox News to the September debate, which Harris declined.
“The first thing a fighter does when he loses a fight is say he ‘demands a rematch,'” Trump wrote. “It’s very late, voting has already started – there will be no rematch.”
Jen O’Malley Dillon, Harris-Walz campaign chairwoman, 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 “shield himself in a safe place” by interviewing conservatives media.
“Trump may want to hide from voters, but Vice President Harris welcomes the opportunity to share his vision for a new direction for the country,” said O’Malley Dillon. “Is pleased to accept CNN’s invitation to a live televised town hall on October 23 in Pennsylvania.”
The September debate between Harris and Trump in Philadelphia was controversial, with each candidate trying to portray the other as extreme and bad for the country. During a June debate with Biden and Trump, Biden stumbled over his words and appeared confused, prompting many in the Democratic Party to urge him to concede. He did so on July 21 and immediately endorsed Harris.
A recent poll shows that Harris and Trump are virtually tied in Pennsylvania. The state’s 19 electoral votes make winning the White House a must for either candidate.
