Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said late Thursday that there's a “100 percent” chance that former President Trump will take part in the new debate with Vice President Harris, even though he has said he won't.
“I'm 100 percent sure he'll be at the debate,” Scaramucci told Anderson Cooper on CNN's “AC360.” Highlighted by Mediaite. “Let me make a prediction here. He's a wrestler, he's like UFC. He'll say he doesn't debate. I know he lost the debate.”
Early Thursday morning, Trump posted on his Truth Social site, declaring that “there will be no third debate.”
Trump and Harris met for the first time on Tuesday at a debate in Philadelphia, and shortly after Harris' widely-anticipated victory, her campaign said she was open to a second debate with Trump before the election.
In his post, Trump said the president should “focus on what should have been done over the last almost four years,” ruling out the possibility of a second meeting.
Speaking on CNN, Scaramucci noted that Trump had gone into his press office after the debate and said the former president would not have done that if he had known he had played it off.
“He knows he lost the debate and he's going to debate her again, but he needs to be prepared,” said Scaramucci, who served in the Trump administration for just 11 days. “He sees it as a bargaining chip. He's trying to show his machismo.”
Ahead of the debate, Harris holed up in Pennsylvania meeting with voters and preparing for the debate, while Trump arrived in Philadelphia hours before the 9pm debate start – something Scaramucci argued showed onstage.
“She looked well rested. She was very well prepared. But he's a macho guy. He was probably playing the YMCA song 'Macho Man' as he was landing the plane,” Scaramucci said.
In a speech late Thursday, Harris said she and Trump “owe it to the voters to hold another debate,” adding that “what's at stake couldn't be more important.”
