Trump Declines Final Debate, Calls Harris ‘Dumb’

Donald Trump has rejected Fox News’s offer to host a final presidential debate between him and Democratic rival Kamala Harris, having also spurned CNN’s invitation to a second contest.

“THERE WILL BE NO REMATCH,” the Republican said on Truth Social. “SO THERE IS NOTHING TO DEBATE.”

Trump was widely felt to have lost their first match-up in Philadelphia a month ago, cutting an absurd figure as he ranted baselessly about Haitian immigrants eating domestic pets in Springfield, Ohio – an exchange that went viral.

On Wednesday, the Republican rallied in Joe Biden’s hometown of Scranton and in Reading, Pennsylvania, using his time in the swing state to repeat favourite false claims, call Harris “dumb”, mock Senator Elizabeth Warren and attack The View host Whoopi Goldberg as “demented” and “dirty and disgusting”.

He then denied having a problem with women or attracting female support, claiming: “I think [women] like me anyway. I think it’s all bulls***. They make it up.”

Exclusive polling for The Independent has meanwhile indicated that Republicans are tiring of Trump and prefer his running mate, JD Vance, although they consider Democrat Tim Walz more presidential than this rival.

Kamala Harris is leading Donald Trump by four points among likely voters, according to an Economist/YouGov poll released today.

The vice president leads with 49% to Trump’s 45%, while four percent of voters are unsure, one percent support Jill Stein, and one percent support other candidates.

Harris also leads Trump by three percentage points among registered voters — 47% support the vice president while 44% plan to cast a ballot for the former president.

However, five percent of registered voters were still unsure of their choice, while one percent said they will vote for Jill Stein, one percent said they would not vote, and another one percent supported other candidates.