WASHINGTON — Donald Trump, who tried to lure Kamala Harris into debating him by publicly accepting multiple invitations while her campaign insisted he negotiate the terms first, is now casting doubt on whether he will agree to another in-person meeting with his Democratic opponent.
Within moments of leaving the debate stage Tuesday night with a performance that was quickly criticized by some Republicans, Trump began dismissing the idea that he would do another debate, a reversal of his previous position that he was willing to do multiple debates and that Harris was in hiding.
Trump’s campaign said before the debate that he had accepted debate invitations from Fox News and NBC News, and that Harris had not. But in interviews after the debate, Trump was coy. He claimed victory over Truth Social and said, “Why would I do a rematch?”
“If you win the debate, I don’t know if I want to have another debate,” the former president told Fox News on Wednesday morning.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he would participate in debates with NBC News or Fox News.
Trump saw his first debate of the season against Joe Biden as a resounding success — not only did Republicans say he showed restraint, but Biden’s performance ultimately led to him stepping aside. After the perceived victory, pushing Harris into more debates seemed like a strategic goal for Trump, with Harris declining a request for a debate on Fox News in early September.
But Tuesday evening’s debate did not go like the previous confrontation.
“She was extraordinarily well-prepared. She set traps and he chased every rabbit down every hole instead of talking about the things he should have been talking about,” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Trump ally turned critic, said in an interview with ABC News after the debate.
Trump’s more defensive allies brushed aside criticism that he had conducted a poor debate by blaming the moderators. One said the highlight of the evening was the final minute, when he delivered a closing statement. Trump told reporters Tuesday night that he might consider another if it were run by an “honest” network.
Harris has not accepted a second debate with Trump, but her campaign appeared more open on Wednesday.
“That was fun,” Brian Fallon, a top spokesman, wrote on X. “Let’s do it again in October.”
If the candidates were to hold no more than one debate, it would violate modern historical precedents.
Trump’s campaign warned in a pre-debate phone call that Tuesday’s confrontation could be the “only debate” Trump and Harris participate in, putting the onus on Harris.
Now Trump’s campaign says he is waiting for a final decision.
“We accepted Fox, they turned it down. We accepted ABC, they quibbled over the rules and ultimately agreed. We accepted NBC on September 25th, they turned it down,” Trump’s senior adviser Brian Hughes said in a statement to NBC News on Wednesday. “So President Trump said he would determine that later.” (A spokesperson for NBC News did not respond when asked whether the network’s invitation was still valid and who had accepted it.)
Hughes said Harris had “missed the moment” and still hadn’t taken into account her record in the White House, and said that was the reason for her team’s enthusiasm for a rematch.
“But the biggest indication here is that Harris has not explained why she hasn’t done the things she says she cares about. There’s a nearly four-year record of failure on display, and she didn’t lie to get out of it,” Hughes said. “She missed the moment and lost it, so it’s no wonder her team is scrambling to try again.”
Eric Levine, a Republican fundraiser from New York, said Trump should return to the debate stage, if only to get better answers out of his opponent after moderators failed to do so on Tuesday.
“He missed opportunity after opportunity to wipe her out,” Levine said.
Still, Levine said he appreciated the challenge Trump faced if they met again. “She’s like a hologram. Getting substance out of her is like trying to nail jelly to a wall,” he added.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
