Republican Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire has expressed his disagreement with former President Donald Trump’s decision not to debate Vice President Kamala Harris for a second time. Despite Sununu’s critical stance towards Trump, he still supports him in the upcoming November election. Sununu believes that for a close race like this, more time spent in front of voters through debates would be beneficial. He advised Trump to deviate from his previous debate performance and communicate in a more empathetic and direct manner, connecting with voters who may not like his personality but support his policies. Sununu emphasized the importance of re-establishing a connection with voters as Trump did in 2016.
Other Republicans have also urged Trump to debate Harris again before the former president declared on Thursday that he would not engage in a second debate. Senate Republican Whip John Thune of South Dakota feels that a second debate would be helpful as the first debate did not delve enough into policy. Senator Rick Scott of Florida, a close ally to Trump, sees a second debate as an opportunity for Trump to highlight the differences between his policies and those of the Biden-Harris administration. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina believes that focusing on pressing issues such as illegal immigration would be more beneficial than discussing trivial topics, indicating missed opportunities during the first debate.
According to multiple polls following the debate, including national and swing state polls collected by FiveThirtyEight, Harris was perceived to have won the debate by an average of 57 percent of viewers. Despite this, Trump continues to assert that he had a superior debate performance. In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused Harris of calling for a second debate because he believed he had clearly won their initial matchup. Trump cited unnamed polls to support his claim and dismissed the idea of a third debate. The specifics of the polls referenced by Trump remain unclear.
Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, asserted that Trump dominated Harris on the debate stage, leading her to seek a rematch after suffering a significant defeat. Sununu’s office has yet to comment on Trump’s decision not to engage in a second debate with Harris. The debate between Trump and Harris on ABC News was marked by intense exchanges and challenges between the candidates. Sununu and other Republicans believe that engaging in additional debates could have been beneficial in communicating policy differences and reaching undecided voters. Trump’s decision to reject a second debate may have implications for his campaign strategy in the final weeks leading up to the election.
