Former President Donald Trump reaffirmed on social media that he will not partake in any more debates ahead of the November election because votes are already being cast.
“I’m not looking to do it again, too far down the line. Votes are already cast,” Trump wrote.
The former president’s remarks came after Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz held their first and only vice presidential debate on Tuesday evening.
It’s just five weeks before Election Day, and millions of voters can now cast early ballots.
This week, Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement that “Vice President Harris believes that the American people deserve to see her and Trump on the debate stage one more time.”
“She will be in Atlanta on October 23—Donald Trump should step up and face the voters,” she said.
After their first debate last month, the Harris campaign made a similar request. At the time, Trump indicated that he would not partake and said that he believes he won the debate.
Trump also partook in a debate with President Joe Biden in late June, which later sparked widespread calls among Democrats for Biden to suspend his reelection campaign. The president in July confirmed that he would end his campaign and threw his support behind Harris, who later was nominated as the Democratic Party’s candidate to face Trump.
Of the states that report party affiliation, nearly 60 percent of those who have voted early or by mail are Democrats, 24 percent are Republicans, and 15 percent are unaffiliated or belong to a third party, according to the tracker. A large majority of early voters, or 57 percent, are aged 65 and older, while another 29 percent are aged 41 to 65, it shows.
Tuesday’s vice presidential debate played out as the stakes of the contest rose again after Iran fired missiles into Israel, while a devastating hurricane and potentially debilitating port strike roiled the country at home. Over and again, Walz and Vance outlined the policy and character differences between their running mates, while trying to introduce themselves to the country.
At one point, CBS News briefly cut off the microphones of both Walz and Vance during an exchange in their debate when the Republican objected to an attempt by moderator Margaret Brennan to interject a comment on his immigration remarks.
Prior to the debate, CBS News had said it would be up to the two candidates—not moderators Brennan and Norah O’Donnell—to fact-check each other and that the journalists would encourage them to do so. Vance said that it appeared CBS News was breaking the rules it had set down.
Earlier this week, the Trump campaign said the former president would not take part in the “60 Minutes” primetime interview following a statement from CBS News.
“For over half a century, 60 Minutes has invited the Democratic and Republican tickets to appear on our broadcast as Americans head to the polls,” the channel said in a statement. “This year, both the Harris and Trump campaigns agreed to sit down with 60 Minutes.”
CBS then said that “after initially accepting 60 Minutes’ request for an interview with Scott Pelley, former President Trump’s campaign has decided not to participate.”
On social media, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung wrote that CBS News’s statement is “fake news” because “60 Minutes” had “begged for an interview.”
