CNN’s Van Jones said Friday that former President Trump would likely deliver a stronger performance if he agrees to a second debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump announced in a Thursday Truth Social post that he will not debate Harris again, despite her campaign’s push for an October rematch following their Tuesday showdown. Jones, on “CNN News Central,” said Trump would be a tougher opponent for Harris in a second debate, but also noted he believes the vice president is constantly improving her communication skills.
WATCH:
‘He Will Be A Different Guy’: Van Jones Warns Trump Will ‘Be Much More Formidable’ If He Does Second Harris Debate pic.twitter.com/4o3xlKJRHd
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 13, 2024
“She wins either way. She can just call him a chicken all day and talk about that she whooped him … and he has to pretend that he won when everybody knows he lost. If she debates him again, he will be a different guy. He usually screws up the first debate and gets better in the second debate,” Jones said. “I think he underestimated her. I think he had a bunch of nut jobs around him on his plane, getting him all psyched up about eating dogs and all kind of crazy stuff. And so when he got there, he was not in the right mindset and she whooped him.”
“I think he doesn’t like losing and I think he knows he lost and I think if he does come back, he’s going to be much more formidable, but also Kamala Harris is getting better every single day, every time she touches the microphone, she gets better,” he added. “Every speech is better … She was better on the debate stage than almost anybody who’s been on a debate stage. She just whooped him, and Donald Trump is the Pac-Man of politics. He ate through 16 Republican governors, senators, like it was nothing, and she was the matador that stopped the bull.”
ABC News debate moderators Linsey Davis and David Muir have faced backlash for fact-checking Trump several times while allowing Harris to make unchallenged false statements.
Over 20% more viewers believed Harris won the debate than Trump, according to polls conducted by CNN and YouGov. However, Trump insisted in his Thursday post that “polls clearly show” he was victorious, and on Wednesday he postedscreenshots of certain polls showing viewers think he won.
Trump previously challenged Harris to three debates, but the vice president only accepted the ABC News face-off.
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