Former President Donald Trump said late Wednesday that he would not debate Vice President Kamala Harris amid speculation that the two could have one last faceoff before Election Day on Nov. 5.
Trump’s comments come the same day that Fox News invited both candidates to debate at the end of this month, just days before voters head to the polls, though much early voting is already underway.
“This would present an opportunity for each candidate to make his or her closing arguments,” Fox News Media President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace and Vice President of Politics Jessica Loker wrote in a letter to both campaigns.
Harris had previously publicly said she wanted to debate Trump on CNN, and Trump said that he had previously attempted to have a Fox News debate with Harris. Now, neither will happen.
“I won the last two debates, one with Crooked Joe, the other with Lyin’ Kamala,” Trump wrote in all capital letters online. “I accepted the Fox-News invitation to debate Kamala on September 4th, but she turned it down.”
The news comes as The Center Square Voters’ Voice poll released this week shows that Harris holds a slight lead over Trump nationally, 49% to 47% with likely voters.
However, that same poll shows Trump making inroads with Black and Hispanic voters.
Because the race is so tight, it will likely be decided by a handful of swing states.
According to Real Clear Politics’ polling, Trump is leading in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, but his narrow leads are within the margin of error for most polls.
Harris has a slight lead in Wisconsin and Nevada, also within the margin of error, making the race a toss-up.
Trump touted his running mate’s debate earlier this month, where U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, faced off against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“J.D. Vance easily won his debate with … Tim Walz, who called himself a knucklehead!” Trump said. “I am also leading in the polls, with the lead getting bigger by the day – and leading in all swing states. The first thing a prizefighter does when he loses a fight is say that he ‘demands a rematch.’ It is very late in the process, voting has already begun – there will be no rematch! Besides, Kamala stated clearly, yesterday, that she would not do anything different than Joe Biden, so there is nothing to debate.”
The debates have covered a range of issues from immigration to abortion to foreign relations to housing and more.
Notably, energy issues have received less attention in these debates, despite polling showing voters consider costs and energy an important issue.
A Morning Consult/API poll obtained first by The Center Square showed the majority of Americans want to hear more from the candidates on energy issues.
“Americans overwhelmingly want a candidate who will stop the war on American energy as energy costs have soared nearly 30 percent and families have lost more than $4,691 since Harris and Biden took office,” Trump Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Center Square.
“If Kamala becomes president, prices would spike even higher – she was a proud supporter of the Green New Scam and has promised to ban fracking and kill good paying energy jobs in Pennsylvania and across the heartland,” Leavitt added. “President Trump is the only candidate who will make America energy dominant again, protect our energy jobs, and bring down the cost of living for working families.”
While Harris in the past has said she supported banning fracking, since she has become the Democratic presidential nominee, she says she no longer supports such a ban.
