After he called his first presidential debate with US Vice President Kamala Harris “the best”, former US President Donald Trump said he is not inclined to have another debate with Harris. He also claimed that the ABC-hosted US presidential debate was "rigged" against him.
In an interview on Fox News on Wednesday, Trump reportedly said, “I am not inclined to do it because I won the debate by a lot." He added, “I don’t know that I want to do another debate.”
Still, hours later, Trump said he hadn’t completely ruled out another matchup, adding that he had potential broadcast venues in mind if he ultimately decided to move forward with a second contest, Bloomberg reported.
“I would do NBC. I’d do Fox too but, right now, we have to determine whether or not we want to,” Trump reportedly told reporters in Pennsylvania, during a stop to mark the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Earlier in the day, Donald Trump said in a spin room appearance after his debate against political opponent Kamala Harris that he “felt very good” and had “a good time” during the fiery exchange with the vice president and Democratic presidential nominee. “This was my best debate…,” he said.
The scattershot approach epitomized the former president’s hasty effort to recover from a showdown that saw him largely on the defensive and distracted.
The Republican nominee headed to the media spin room shortly after the debate, posted repeatedly on his social media channels through the night, and then appeared early Tuesday morning on the conservative network to declare victory and complain that media coverage had been unfair.
While Trump insisted to Fox that Harris’ request for additional debates suggests she lost their showdown, public opinion polls and betting markets indicate the Democratic candidate had the better night.
“The losing person, the fighter, the debater, they always ask for a rematch. I won the debate,” Trump said.
Trump said that if Fox News did host a second contest, that it shouldn’t be moderated by Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier because the pair were critical of his performance on the stage in Philadelphia.
A month ago, Trump floated three debates with Harris, which included the one held on Tuesday with ABC News and debates to be hosted by Fox News and NBC News.
The Harris campaign previously said it would only commit to additional debates if Trump showed up to Tuesday’s event — and has rejected a debate hosted by Fox. Immediately following the forum, the Harris campaign said the vice president was “ready for a second debate.”
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
