Kamala Harris Calls for Second Debate; Donald Trump: It's Too Late

Kamala Harris's campaign, the Vice President of the United States and the Democratic Party's candidate in the presidential election, says she has accepted CNN's invitation to participate in another debate with Donald Trump. Shortly after, Mr. Trump rejected participation in the second debate. CNN plans to hold this debate on October 24, and Ms. Harris called on her Republican opponent on Saturday, September 22, to face her less than two weeks before the presidential election scheduled for November 6. An hour after Kamala Harris's campaign announcement, Donald Trump rejected his Democratic rival's proposal for another debate, stating that it is 'too late' for this. At a campaign rally in North Carolina, Mr. Trump, referring to the start of early voting in three states, said: 'The problem with another debate is that it is too late; early voting has already started.' Previously, when asked about Kamala Harris's invitation and the possibility of his participation in the CNN debate, Trump's spokesperson referred to the Republican candidate's earlier statements that he would not hold another debate. The first debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris was held on September 11, and polls indicated that the Democratic candidate won this debate. The debate, hosted by ABC News at the U.S. Constitution Center, was said to potentially be the first and last confrontation between the two candidates in the 2024 presidential election. Although this debate was planned long before Joe Biden withdrew from the race, Donald Trump expressed doubts about participating a month before it took place. Initially, he opposed the debate hosted by ABC News, but after Kamala Harris responded to his criticisms, he agreed to stand against her and participate in the debate. The debate, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, featured mutual attacks between the two candidates for 90 minutes, covering various topics including domestic policy, the economy, abortion rights, the immigration crisis, foreign policy, and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, with both candidates having disagreements on nearly all topics. Before Joe Biden withdrew from the election race, Donald Trump debated him on CNN on June 28. Immediately after the debate, CNN asked its viewers to determine the winner of the 90-minute confrontation, and the results showed that Donald Trump had significantly defeated his opponent. Biden's poor performance in the debate raised concerns among Democrats and led strategists to question whether their party should seek an unprecedented replacement for the 81-year-old president's candidacy. Following requests from some senior Democratic Party members, Joe Biden withdrew from the race for the upcoming presidential election in July. This announcement faced a wave of reactions within the country, and ultimately, Kamala Harris, the current Vice President of the United States, managed to secure the Democratic Party's nomination for the presidential election on August 4. Last week, Donald Trump announced on his social media account 'Truth Social' that there would be 'no third debate' and that he would not participate in another debate with Kamala Harris before the election. However, Jen O'Malley Dillon, Harris's campaign manager, stated in a statement released on Saturday that it does not seem that Donald Trump would have any problem attending this debate.