The election is going to be tight. Right now, Harris leads very, very slightly, by about three points. FiveThirtyEight placed the odds at about 53-47 as of yesterday (and they’re historically pretty good). Trump got his ass handed to him at the last debate, and he knows it. Unless he was able to git gud really fast, a 2nd debate would not improve his chances. Yes, he looks weak by not taking it on Fox of all places, but that’s better than taking it an doing just as badly a 2nd time. There’s almost no upside to him accepting an invitation to a debate.
But.
Trump is also incredibly egotistical. He wants to be on stage, and he thinks that he’s good at debating. He wants to be seen; he needs to be seen. Turning down free publicity to present himself first–and his policies a distant second–on a national television program witnessed by millions of people, that’s gotta hurt him.
The election is going to be tight. Right now, Harris leads very, very slightly, by about three points. FiveThirtyEight placed the odds at about 53-47 as of yesterday (and they’re historically pretty good). Trump got his ass handed to him at the last debate, and he knows it. Unless he was able to git gud really fast, a 2nd debate would not improve his chances. Yes, he looks weak by not taking it on Fox of all places, but that’s better than taking it an doing just as badly a 2nd time. There’s almost no upside to him accepting an invitation to a debate.
But.
Trump is also incredibly egotistical. He wants to be on stage, and he thinks that he’s good at debating. He wants to be seen; he needs to be seen. Turning down free publicity to present himself first–and his policies a distant second–on a national television program witnessed by millions of people, that’s gotta hurt him.