(The Center Square) With less than eight weeks until Election Day for former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, it remains in doubt whether they will debate again.
Two people Confronted The two campaigns will debate for the first time on Tuesday night at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Prior to this week's debate, neither side had agreed to debate again.
While the Harris campaign has issued a statement welcoming a second debate, the big question remains whether the Trump campaign shares the same view and whether the two campaigns can agree on which network to host the debate and the details of what the event might entail.
“In boxing and UFC, when a fighter loses or gets knocked out, they stand up and yell, 'I demand a rematch, I demand a rematch!' It's the same in a debate,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial on Wednesday morning. “She lost badly last night. We're winning in all the polls. One had it 92-8. Why have a rematch?”
Tuesday's debate covered a wide range of topics, from the economy to immigration, health care and overseas conflicts, and featured plenty of criticism from both candidates.
“There's no denying that Vice President Harris' performance was outstanding, well-prepared and well-rehearsed,” Republican political strategist Colin Reed told The Center Square.
Check out The Washington Post's coverage of the debate
Analysts said Trump missed an opportunity to hold Harris accountable for her past shifts in stance and a general lack of detail on policy issues. Harris was able to lure him with comments about turnout at Trump's rallies, buying precious time where Trump would have otherwise been debating immigration, an issue that is generally a weak one for Harris.
“The question that remains is what impact the debate will have before voters go to the polls, and whether she is able to adequately convince Americans of her vision for the country, which has so far been marked by vague policy announcements and contradictions to her past statements,” Reid continued.
The inconsistencies in question include Harris' past prohibited remarks. Hydraulic fracturingThe topic received little attention at the debate in Pennsylvania, where fracking and affordable energy are key political issues.
While Trump bragged about his performance in the debate, he also criticized ABC hosts David Muir and Lindsay Davis.
“I think that was the best debate I've ever had, especially because it was three to one!” Trump said online shortly after the debate.
The moderators drew criticism from others, including from critics who said they were proactive in fact-checking Trump but not so proactive in fact-checking Harris.
“The moderators did not fact-check Kamala Harris on Project 2025,” Abigail Shrier, an author and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, wrote to X during the debate, referring to Trump's repeated dissent of the project. “The moderators did not fact-check Kamala Harris on IVF. They just fact-checked Trump for the fourth time.”
Notably, Taylor Swift's endorsement of Harris after the debate was a boost for her campaign, but Republicans, who have often dismissed endorsements from Hollywood and other stars as unrealistic, questioned the debate's usefulness.
“I will be voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for President in 2024,” Swift wrote on Instagram. “I am voting for Kamala Harris because she fights for the rights and causes we deserve, and I believe we need warriors to defend them. I think she is a solid and talented leader, and I believe this country can accomplish so much more if it is led by calm instead of chaos.”
Swift signed the post “childless cat ladies,” an apparent reference to comments made in 2021 by Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Trump's vice presidential nominee, who said the Democratic Party is largely run by miserable childless cat ladies.
It remains to be seen whether the debate or Swift's endorsement will have any real impact on the race, which currently has polls showing the two candidates neck and neck both nationally and in key battleground states.
“Kamala Harris has been trained like an actress, with lights, cameras and memorized lines to 'win' the debates and perform her way on the campaign trail,” former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard wrote on X. “But we're not choosing a lead character in a movie, we're choosing a commander in chief. As citizens and voters, we need to recognize our solemn responsibility in this regard.”
