Kamala Harris Says She’ll Do Another Debate

Vice President Kamala Harris stated after her much-anticipated debate with former President Donald Trump on Tuesday that she’s open to another debate, in addition to the one scheduled for Oct. 1, which will feature running mates Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.).

According to a Washington Post report, which cited an unnamed source, the decision to propose an additional debate was made before Tuesday’s event, which was hosted by ABC. However, this claim appears doubtful, as Harris’ team had publicly refrained from committing to further debates for weeks.

It seems more plausible that Harris' team felt she outperformed Trump and is now willing to face him again.

“Under the bright lights, the American people got to see the choice they will face this fall at the ballot box: between moving forward with Kamala Harris, or going backwards with Trump,” stated Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon in a post-debate press release. “That’s what they saw tonight and what they should see at a second debate in October. Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?”

The Post noted that Trump had previously requested three debates with Harris, although it’s unclear whether he would agree to a second one after Tuesday’s face-off in Philadelphia. “We’ll look at it, but they want a second debate because they lost,” Trump said to reporters in the spin room after the debate.

Chris LaCivita, an adviser to Trump’s campaign, had a brief response to the Harris team’s statement. “Of course,” he wrote. “They need clean up.”

Harris’ campaign decision appears driven by a strategic effort to boost her profile among undecided voters, many of whom are less familiar with her candidacy than with Trump’s, the Washington Post suggested. Despite having a larger campaign presence and spending more on advertising, the Harris campaign has recently focused on introducing her platform to voters, promoting her as “A New Way Forward,” even as she holds office as Vice President.

Since the closing night of the Democratic National Convention in August, the Harris campaign has poured $101 million into television, radio, and digital advertisements, per data from AdImpact, while the Trump campaign has spent $47 million. When factoring in spending by external groups focused on the presidential race, Democrats have outspent Republicans $186 million to $138 million, according to AdImpact.

Meanwhile, a SuperPAC, heavily funded by billionaire Tesla, SpaceX, and Starlink CEO Elon Musk, is preparing to launch a wave of digital ads targeting swing state voters to support former President Trump, with sharp, direct messaging.

“If you sit this election out, Kamala and the crazies will win,” declares one ad on Google’s YouTube platform, which has garnered over three million views. “You will be stuck with higher costs and more illegals invading our country.” The ad also presents Trump as an “American Badass,” featuring imagery of him raising his fist in triumph after the July assassination attempt, urging people to “fight, fight, fight!”

Another ad from America PAC on Meta Platforms Inc.'s Facebook reads: “We must STOP Kamala while we can,” with a focus on Arizona. “Arizona families have had ENOUGH of radical liberals.”

Bloomberg News has reported that a separate Facebook ad features a voiceover with a Russian accent, stating: “Meet Comrade Kamala,” with the tagline, “Ready to bring Soviet Union to Michigan.”

On X (formerly Twitter), one ad brings up how Trump’s political foes “tried to kick Trump off your ballot” before emphasizing: “They even tried to end his campaign and take him out for good.”