US election: Trump pulls out of final debate after Harris emerges as poll favourite

Republican nominee Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he would not participate in another presidential debate against Kamala Harris ahead of the 5th November election. The decision came after several polls indicated that his Democratic opponent had won their recent debate earlier in the week.

Trump made the statement on the social media platform Truth Social, declaring, "THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!" The former president had previously participated in a debate against President Joe Biden in June before facing Harris in a second debate on Tuesday September 10.

Despite praising his own performance, six Republican donors and three of Trump’s advisers, who spoke to Reuters, believed Harris had performed better, suggesting Trump struggled to stay on message.

The debate attracted 67.1 million television viewers, according to data from Nielsen. Shortly after Trump’s announcement, Harris, while speaking at a rally, said: "I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate." She expressed her willingness to continue the public discussions leading up to the election.

Although Trump claimed that polls showed he won the debate, several surveys indicated otherwise. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday revealed that, among voters who had followed the debate, 53% thought Harris had won, while 24% believed Trump was victorious.

Additionally, the poll indicated that 54% of registered voters felt that a single debate between Trump and Harris was sufficient, while 46% were in favour of a second debate.

Further polling supported the view that Harris outperformed Trump. A CNN flash poll conducted immediately after the debate also showed a majority favoured Harris, while a YouGov survey revealed that 54% believed Harris won, compared to 31% who supported Trump’s performance.