Another exchange with Kamala Harris? Donald Trump has no desire for that after the first TV duel. And if he has to, then on his terms.
After the TV duel against his opponent Kamala Harris, the Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump is leaving open his approval for another debate. If you have won a TV duel, you don’t necessarily have to compete again, said the 78-year-old. “Right now we’ll see what we do.” At the same time, he attacked the US broadcaster ABC, which had hosted the debate, and demanded that the channel’s broadcasting license be revoked because the moderators had been unfair.
Trump and Democrat Harris competed against each other in their first TV duel on Tuesday evening (local time). There is currently no date for a second debate. Harris had suggested a second duel immediately after the first duel.
Trump made it clear in the past that another duel should be hosted by his home channel Fox News. Trump called the breakfast show after the debate and said that the two moderators suggested by Fox News, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, should under no circumstances moderate such a duel. The 78-year-old instead suggested Fox News commentators Jesse Watters, Laura Ingraham or Sean Hannity, all of whom are staunchly behind Trump and regularly insult the Democrats on their shows.
On the other hand, the ABC broadcaster, which carried the debate in Philadelphia, was the “most dishonest” broadcaster, according to Trump. The duel was “three against one,” complained the Republican, referring to the two moderators. They fact-checked some of the ex-president’s statements live and described them as false.
After the TV duel, most Americans see Kamala Harris in the lead
At the duel in Philadelphia, the two candidates engaged in a heated battle of words. Trump allowed himself to be provoked by Harris, appeared annoyed at times and went on the defensive. Harris attacked Trump head-on and refused to be rattled. The appearance was a special test for her because she had only entered the race for the White House a few weeks ago. The duel initiates the hot phase of the presidential election campaign, with elections taking place on November 5th.
In a CNN quick poll of registered voters, 63 percent of those surveyed said they saw Harris as the winner – compared to 37 percent who saw Trump ahead. In a YouGov survey, 54 percent of voters surveyed said that in their opinion Harris had won the TV duel – 31 percent voted for Trump. It is completely unclear what influence the debate will have on the election. So far, Harris and Trump are roughly neck and neck in polls.
Trump shared photos of polls in which he emerged victorious via his online mouthpiece Truth Social. However, these were online or viewer surveys from certain broadcasters that have no claim to be representative.
Donald Trump attacks Taylor Swift
Meanwhile, the campaign team of the 59-year-old Harris and her running mate Tim Walz were happy about the support of pop star Taylor Swift and started selling Harris-Walz friendship bracelets. Fans of the singer, the “Swifties,” often wear friendship bracelets to spread positivity. Shortly after the TV debate, Swift announced that she would vote for Harris in the November election. This is good news for the Democrat because Swift has enormous influence among her fans – especially young women, an important group of voters.
Trump appeared upset by Swift’s decision. “She always seems to support a Democrat. And she’ll probably pay a price for that in the market,” he said. He added that he was not a Swift fan.
A few weeks ago, Trump published images generated using artificial intelligence on his online mouthpiece that were intended to give the impression that Swift and her fans supported Trump. Swift now cited these images as one reason why she made her political position public. Trump’s running mate JD Vance complained that Swift was a billionaire who had no connection to the interests and problems of most Americans.
