Donald Trump refuses another debate with Harris

(Tucson) There will be no more debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. The former president rejected the idea, championed by his Democratic rival, on Thursday as the two continued to scour the decisive states in the presidential election.

“There will be no third debate,” the Republican candidate asserted on his Truth Social platform, counting his televised exchange in June with President Joe Biden, then still a candidate, in addition to his confrontation Tuesday with the vice president.

Campaigning in North Carolina, a state where she is counting on the votes of African-Americans and young people to win against Donald Trump, the 59-year-old Democrat, on the contrary, judged that “the voters deserved a second debate.”

By all accounts, she dominated Tuesday’s, continually drawing her rival onto the topics most likely to hurt his ego – the success of his rallies, the disaffection of his former political allies, his international reputation…

This did not prevent Donald Trump from claiming that, on the contrary, he was the one who had “won” the debate, while attacking the impartiality of the two ABC journalists who moderated the discussions.

Kamala Harris is trying to capitalize on this momentum: in North Carolina, she said Thursday that “America is ready for a new path” and “a new generation of leaders.”

She also judged, as she does at every stage of her very disciplined and resolutely centrist campaign, that America wanted to “turn the page” on Trump.

“Filthy” conspiracy theories

At a rally Thursday in Arizona, a state bordering Mexico, the 78-year-old billionaire continued to reference a false and racist claim that Haitian migrants were stealing dogs and cats to eat in Springfield, Ohio.

“It was a beautiful community, it’s horrible what happened,” he told the crowd, also mentioning, without proof, the case of migrants attacking “geese” or “raping young American girls.”

The Republican candidate promises to fight illegal immigration with mass expulsions if elected.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the “filthy” conspiracy theories were putting “lives in danger,” as Springfield City Hall was evacuated Thursday following a bomb threat.

As in the two previous presidential elections, the 2024 election could be decided by a few thousand votes in certain strategic counties in six or seven pivotal states, due to the voting method – indirect universal suffrage.

The prospect of a close election raises fears of a wave of potentially violent protests surrounding the electoral process, since Donald Trump has refused to commit to conceding a possible new defeat.

Federal authorities announced Thursday that the certification of the presidential election result by Congress on January 6 will take place with the highest level of security possible for an official event in America.

On this date in 2021, supporters of Donald Trump attacked the Capitol in an attempt to prevent parliamentarians from confirming Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.

“Short memory”

But can Tuesday’s exchange, watched by more than 67 million viewers, really make a difference?

“Voters’ memories are short,” says Kyle Kondik, a political scientist at the University of Virginia. He says there’s enough time before the election “for the impact of the debate — if there is one — to fade.”

In order to avoid any loss of momentum, Kamala Harris intends to increase her exchanges with the local press, which has so far given a very limited number of interviews.

On Friday, the former California senator will travel to Pennsylvania. Donald Trump will participate in a campaign event in Nevada, after a press conference in the morning.

According to the polls, a vast majority of voters have already chosen their side and are leaning equally towards the Democrat and the Republican.