Trump Declines Second Debate on CNN After Harris Agrees, Says It’s Too Late

Republican candidate says debate would be ’too late' because voting has already started and that his Democrat opponent had declined an earlier proposed debate.

(Left) Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House in Washington on March 18, 2024. (Right) Former President Donald Trump in Mason City, Iowa, on Jan. 5, 2024. Anna Moneymaker; Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris on Sept. 21 accepted an invitation from CNN to debate former President Donald Trump for a second time, but the prospect of another showdown between the presidential candidates appears highly unlikely as the former president told rallygoers in North Carolina on the same day that the proposed date is too late in the election cycle for a debate.

“I will gladly accept a second presidential debate on October 23. I hope @realDonaldTrump will join me,” Harris said in a post on social media platform X, in response to a post from CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins.

The Trump campaign responded to an inquiry from The Epoch Times about CNN’s invitation by pointing to Trump’s Sept. 12 post on Truth Social, which states emphatically that there won’t be another debate.

Later on Sept. 21, at an afternoon rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, Trump said he was told about the CNN debate proposal as he was disembarking from his plane, and he framed the invitation as a desperate attempt to revive a supposedly failing campaign.

Trump said that a potential second debate against Harris would have “good entertainment value” but added that there wouldn’t be much point because of timing.

“The problem with another debate is that it’s just too late; voting has already started,” the former president said, adding that he previously issued an invitation to Harris to debate on Fox, which she declined.

“Fox invited us on and I waited and waited; they turned it down,” Trump said. “But now she wants to do a debate right before the election with CNN because she’s losing badly.”

The proposed debate would take place at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, according to the network, and would follow essentially the same format as Trump’s debate with President Joe Biden in June.

If an Oct. 23 debate were to happen, Trump and Harris would respond to moderators’ questions for 90 minutes without a live studio audience.

“Both Vice President Harris and former President Trump received an invitation to participate in a CNN debate this fall as we believe the American people would benefit from a second debate between the two candidates for President of the United States,” CNN said in a statement.

“We look forward to receiving a response from both campaigns so the American public can hear more from these candidates as they make their final decision.”

Trump’s remarks in North Carolina on Sept. 21 reinforce the position he expressed after his first debate against Harris, saying that there would be no subsequent debate between them.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.