Ed Morrissey suggests this may be a negotiation tactic, because Trump was far too willing to concede anything to Biden, and then Kamala Harris, to get them on the stage. Maybe he would agree to a debate -- if it weren't "moderated" by Marxist Media shills.
But for now, he's saying, like Apollo Creed, "No rematch." (Of course Apollo changed his mind later.)
This kind of looks weak, but I think it's a good call anyway. Trump performed badly and I'm in no rush to see a rematch myself. Furthermore, the media agreed that they would not debate Trump, but merely moderate, but they lied, went back on their word and broke the debate rules to debate Trump anyway.
There are no honest brokers in the media who could "moderate" -- not even Fox, which always puts forth its most liberal anchors and "journalists" like scumbag Elderly Nepo Baby Chris Wallace. And then these "journalists" strain to show off for their liberal journalist pals and bed-mates by showing We Can Be Just As Biased Against Republicans As You Real Journalists Are, Just Watch Us!
And Trump claims his own polling shows him with a "modest bump" coming out of the debate. It's a surprise to me, but so far other pollsters aren't disputing him. It's not proven, but it's plausible.
A memo obtained from the Trump campaign Thursday reveals a modest post-debate polling bump for the former president, while Kamala Harris's support remains stagnant. In addition to the campaign's internal polling, multiple public polls, including new surveys by Rasmussen and the New York Times, show Trump moving ahead of Harris nationally and in critical swing states.
Key Details:
An internal Trump campaign survey of 1,893 likely voters in key target states showed a 2-point post-debate bump for Trump, while Harris's numbers remained unchanged.
The memo criticizes Harris's debate performance, noting that "target state voters were not impressed by Kamala Harris' empty platitudes."
Trump now leads Harris 50% to 47% in a head-to-head matchup. Other polls reflect similar trends, with a Rasmussen Reports survey conducted from September 5th-11th showing Trump ahead 49% to 47%, and a recent New York Times/Siena College poll showing Trump leading Harris 48% to 47%.
Duane Patterson thinks that the debate was a tie, and a tie benefits Trump, as he's not the one presiding over a nation on fire.
I watched every minute of the debate. The video package I had available for Wednesday morning's Hugh Hewitt Show and my Duane's World podcast included over 50 video clips. My original conclusion was that nobody won the debate. Trump wasn't at his best, Kamala Harris was an A.I. cyborg reciting memorized answers to issue sets, not specific questions. And David Muir and Linsey Davis, Kamala's sorority sister, set a standard for bias in a debate moderator that will never be equaled. I'm not sure it's physically possible to be more partisan and one-sided than what we saw Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
Donald Trump was effective at redirecting the conversation repeatedly throughout the debate on the border crisis, and all of the manifest problems we've seen over the last four years, whether it be on jobs, crime, drugs, national security concerns, education, or strains on the health care system. But there were at least a dozen opportunities for the former President to put this race away for good. He had multiple chances to do what Ronald Reagan did to Walter Mondale in 1984 - use a meme from his opponent he knew was coming and turn it around, erasing any doubt as to who is going to win the election. Trump didn't do that. I'll give you just two examples of a rhetorical checkmate Trump left on the board.
Kamala Harris launched into her 'Trump is the worst ever' routine at one point, making the case that the events of January 6th constituted the biggest threat to democracy since the Civil War. On 9/10, she said that. In real time, my eyes bugged out.
...
Another layup was when Harris claimed that there are no U.S. troops currently serving in a combat zone. We have troops at al-Assad in Iraq that constantly comes under attack. We just lost 7 servicemembers to an ISIS attack on August 31st. U.S. troops are stationed in a combat zone in Syria. There are hot spots all around the world where we have troops deployed. This was an easy way for Trump to show Harris as clueless, unmoored from reality, and recklessly stupid on the commander-in-chief question.
I don't know if that had any impact, either. I myself got bogged down in cut-and-parry stuff, but I'm sure the public is largely ignorant of the fact that American servicemen are still serving in war zones.
He also notes that Nate Silver still has Trump 61.3% likely to win the electoral college. Silver had had Trump at 63.8% likely, so this is a small loss of support.
But still likely to win.