Why Trump is bailing on a second presidential debate

Campaign strategy, rather than media bias, likely explains Trump's decision

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, debates Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, for the first time during the presidential election campaign at The National Constitution Center on September 10, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
If no further televised debates are held, it will be the fewest between the two major party nominees since 1972
(Image credit: Getty Images)

In a September 12 post on his social media website Truth Social, former President and GOP nominee Donald Trump announced that he would not participate in any more general election debates with Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. If no further televised debates are held, it will be the fewest between the two major party nominees since 1972, when there were none. There are likely a number of reasons why the former president doesn't want to have another debate with Harris, who has said she wants more. 

A debate system in transition

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David Faris

David Faris is an associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of It's Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics. He is a frequent contributor to Informed Comment, and his work has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and Indy Week.