Harris campaign mocks Trump's response to CNN's deadline for another debate, says he wants 'to hide'

Kamala Harris' team questioned Donald Trump's decision to miss a final chance to face voters
PUBLISHED OCT 10, 2024
Kamala Harris' campaign slammed Donald Trump for declining CNN's debate invite (Getty Images)
Kamala Harris' campaign slammed Donald Trump for declining CNN's debate invite (Getty Images)

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Kamala Harris’ campaign has hit back at Donald Trump after he declined CNN’s invitation for a debate with the vice president ahead of the upcoming November election.

The former president’s refusal to join Harris for another presidential debate has sparked a fierce response from the Harris campaign, accusing him of avoiding a crucial opportunity to present his vision to the voters.

Donald Trump rejects CNN invitation, cites previous debates

On Thursday, October 10, Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce his decision to skip the proposed CNN debate as he claimed he had already won two previous debates.

Former President Donald Trump listens as his attorney Todd Blanche speaks during a press conference at 40 Wall Street after a pre-trial hearing on March 25, 2024 in New York City. Judge Juan Merchan scheduled Trump's criminal trial to begin on April 15, which would make it the first criminal prosecution of a former American president. Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records last year, which prosecutors say was an effort to hide a potential sex scandal, both before and after the 2016 election. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Donald Trump rejected CNN's invitation for a second debate against Kamala Harris (Getty Images)

"I won the last two debates, one with crooked Joe, the other with lyin' Kamala," he said.

"I accepted the Fox-News invitation to debate Kamala on September 4th, but she turned it down," Trump added.

He argued there was no point in another presidential debate as voting has already begun, and Harris had made clear she would not deviate from President Joe Biden’s policies.

“There will be no rematch!” Trump declared, adding, “Kamala stated clearly, yesterday, that she would not do anything different than Joe Biden, so there is nothing to debate.”

Trump also cited his strong poll numbers, particularly in swing states, as another reason for declining the CNN invitation.



 

Hours after turning down CNN’s offer, Trump declined another invitation from Fox News for a debate before the November election.

Harris campaign's criticism of Donald Trump’s decision

The Harris campaign released a sharp statement condemning Donald Trump’s decision to reject CNN's invitation for the debate.

Jen O’Malley Dillon, the Harris campaign chair criticized the 78-year-old politician for denying the American people a final opportunity to see the candidates side by side.

“Donald Trump’s refusal to join Vice President Harris on the debate stage again is a disservice to the American people,” said Dillon.

“They deserve to see the candidates one last time before casting their ballots to compare their vastly different visions for America,” she added.

Donald Trump accused of avoiding scrutiny

O’Malley Dillon further criticized Donald Trump for avoiding the traditional pre-election 60 minutes interview, opting instead to stay within the conservative media circles.

“Trump may want to hide from the voters, but Vice President Harris welcomes the opportunity to share her vision for a New Way Forward for the country,” she said.



 

In contrast to the Republican presidential candidate, the Harris campaign announced that the vice president had accepted CNN’s invitation for a live, televised town hall on October 23 in Pennsylvania, according to Deadline

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