The Debate Over Debates Is Over, at Least for Now

Kamala Harris was readying to situation Donald J. Trump to different statement nary substance what happened connected Tuesday nighttime successful Philadelphia. A connection from her run chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, had been drafted successful advance. And aft a little huddle, her advisers deed nonstop connected it wrong minutes of the debate’s ending.

“That was fun,” Brian Fallon, 1 of her apical communications advisers, who was successful a holding country astatine the National Constitution Center, rapidly wrote connected X. “Let’s bash it again successful October.”

But for now, astatine least, the vice president’s hopes for a 2nd televised confrontation with Mr. Trump person been dashed. The erstwhile president ruled retired participating successful different statement connected Thursday.

“We’ve done 2 debates and due to the fact that they were successful, determination volition beryllium nary 3rd debate,” Mr. Trump said successful Tucson, Ariz., aft 2 days of nationalist vacillations, referring to his statement with President Biden successful June and with Ms. Harris connected Tuesday.

The stance is simply a acold outcry from his bravado this outpouring erstwhile Mr. Trump was acceptable to tally against Mr. Biden. Then, helium promised to statement “anybody, anytime, anyplace” and offered donors T-shirts with a photoshopped representation of a shirtless Mr. Trump wearing boxing gloves.

It’s besides an inversion of the accustomed dynamics successful which the campaigner who struggled onstage, oregon is down successful the polls, demands a rematch. Ms. Harris was wide viewed arsenic putting Mr. Trump connected the defensive passim their clash, baiting him with speech astir radical leaving his rallies and the inheritance helium received from his father.