Donald Trump looking confused.
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

‘I’d love to but it’s too late’: No one is buying Donald Trump’s debate dodge excuses

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that Donald Trump is running scared of Kamala Harris. She’s a powerful and determined woman, and nothing scares him more, especially where debating is concerned.

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Trump refuses to take part in a second debate with Harris on CNN. The most recent debate took place on September 10, and the media considered that Harris came out on top. This infuriated Trump, who tends to fly off the handle at the slightest suggestion he might not be the winner he thinks he is. But yet he refuses to take part in a rematch.

Harris has stated that she would like to take part in a CNN debate on October 23, and her team has released a statement to that effect. Harris’s campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon, said: “Donald Trump should have no problem agreeing to this debate. It is the same format and setup as the CNN debate he attended and said he won in June, when he praised CNN’s moderators, rules and ratings.” Yet Trump apparently does have a problem.

Trump insists that because he already debated Joe Biden in June—a debate that went so poorly for Biden he ended up dropping out of the presidential race—he shouldn’t have to do another one. While speaking to supporters at a rally in North Carolina, he said:

“She’s done one debate, I’ve done two. It’s too late to do another, I’d love to in many ways but it’s too late, the voting is cast, the voters are out there, immediately—is everybody voting, please? Get out and vote.”

In-person voting has already begun in some states, and the race between Trump and Harris is uncomfortably close.

Now, Harris’s people are taunting Trump for his refusal to show up, calling him a chicken. The Kamala HQ X account posted a video on September 21 showing Trump speaking about his debate with Biden, and then cutting to his recent rally comments. In the body of the post there were three chicken emojis, and Trump’s X account was tagged.

No-one is buying Trump’s excuses, and social media isn’t letting him off the hook for his refusal to debate. Are people relishing in calling him a chicken? You bet.

Kamala Harris had a stark and simple message for her opponent, posted on X on September 21: “I will gladly accept a second presidential debate on October 23. I hope @realdonaldtrump will join me.” It remains to be seen if he’ll change his mind, or if he’s happy to be thought of as a coward.

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Sarah Barrett
Sarah Barrett (she/her) is a freelance writer with The Mary Sue who has been working in journalism since 2014. She loves to write about movies, even the bad ones. (Especially the bad ones.) The Raimi Spider-Man trilogy and the Star Wars prequels changed her life in many interesting ways. She lives in one of the very, very few good parts of England.