Harris ready for debate #2, Trump not so much

WASHINGTON: Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has officially agreed to a further TV debate against her Republican opponent Donald Trump - but it is uncertain whether it will take place.

“Vice President Harris is ready for another opportunity to share a stage with Donald Trump and she has accepted CNN’s invitation to a debate on October 23,“ her campaign team said in a statement on Saturday.

The former president did not comment on this at first – but so far he has rejected a second TV encounter with Harris, reported German news agency dpa.

The two had a heated exchange on September 10 at a TV debate hosted by ABC, with the Democrat repeatedly cornering the Republican. In a flash poll conducted by CNN, 63 per cent of respondents saw her as the winner, compared to 37 per cent for Trump.

The former president, on the other hand, has maintained that he won the debate.

Harris subsequently called for a second debate, but Trump announced that he did not want to take part in any more debates. He noted that he had already contested a first TV debate against the previous Democratic presidential candidate President Joe Biden and then a second against Harris.

“It would be unprecedented in modern history for there to just be one general election debate,“ the Harris campaign team said, adding that US voters deserve another debate so they can review the candidates’ “competing visions for America.”

- Bernama, dpa