Before the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris even ended, her campaign was laying the groundwork for a second debate.
“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," Harris-Walz campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement after the debate ended, adding: "Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?”
Over the last two weeks, Harris' campaign – and even Harris herself – have been pushing for a second debate between the two. This weekend, Harris accepted an invitation from CNN for a debate on Oct. 23, less than two weeks before Election Day.
“Let's have another debate. There's more to talk about and the voters of America deserve to hear the conversations that I think we should be having on substance, on issues on policies, what’s your plan, what’s my plan? We should have another one before Election Day,” Harris urged Sunday.
Experts say while Harris could easily walk away the winner of the first debate and continue on with her campaign, there are a few reasons she likely wants to go toe to toe with her Republican opponent again.
“The conventional wisdom is, in politics, if you hands down win a debate, which most everyone says she did, then you don't offer a second one because there's nothing left to gain there,” explained Casey Burgat, an assistant professor and the Legislative Affairs Program Director at the George Washington University. “Which leads to the question of, Why is she so willing to have another one?"
"There's a few possible answers: Number one is that she thinks she can do it again and to take all the naysayers away, to take all of [the] ‘maybe she just had a good night. Trump had an off night,’ maybe she just wants to prove that she doesn't fear this person," Burgat continued, adding that another reason may be as simple as continuing to contrast between the two.
“The more time that he's available to a national profile audience – and that debate got huge ratings – that's a good message for her campaign. She thinks that…he just can't help himself from being angry and relitigating the past, things that she's telling her voters he's doing anyway, maybe just let him make that case.”
Trump has all but shut down the prospect of another debate, arguing it’s “just too late” for the pair to meet again.
“Voting has already started. She's had a chance to do it with Fox. You know, Fox invited us on and I waited and waited and they turned it down,” said Trump at his rally Saturday in North Carolina, before suggesting that she wants to do another debate "because she's losing badly."
Despite Trump's argument, the final debates in the presidential election have been held in mid-to-late October since at least the 1960s.
In 2020, the final debate between Trump and Joe Biden took place at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 22. In 2016, the last debate between Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was held in Las Vegas at the University of Nevada on Oct. 19.
While it’s unclear if Harris and Trump will indeed meet again for a debate, their running mates will meet next week for their first and only debate on Oct. 1.