Trump fears a ‘Biden repeat,’ podcaster reveals why he won’t debate Harris again

Donald Trump may be trying to dodge a debate disaster, with whispers suggesting that he’s ducking Vice President Kamala Harris to avoid his own “Biden moment.” The tables seem to have turned as Trump, who once took aim at Joe Biden’s mental sharpness, now faces a younger, sharper Harris—and some say he’s not keen on the comparison. Kara Swisher, a podcaster, suggested on CNN that Trump’s recent public appearances indicate cognitive challenges, which may be influencing his decision.
On September 10, Harris and Trump locked horns on ABC in a first and probably the last presidential debate ahead of the elections, with the majority claiming Harris won. Trump has previously suggested that Vice President Harris is pushing for a second debate because she feels she’s at a disadvantage. In Truth Social post, he stated, “I beat Biden, I beat her, and I’m not looking to do it again so late in the game.” He added, “The votes are in, and I’m leading BIG in the polls. I’ll MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN—something she’s not capable of.”
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On CNN’s The Chris Wallace Show Kara Swisher made bold claims about Donald Trump’s mental sharpness, suggesting that his “cognitive challenges are clear” and may be the reason he’s avoiding a second debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. Swisher’s comments came after another panelist defended Trump’s decision to skip both the debate and a solo interview on 60 Minutes.
Wallace questioned, “The fact is presidential candidates go on networks and do debates. Why is Trump ducking a debate and a 60 Minutes when he’s going to have an interview by himself?”
Reihan Salam, who runs the Manhattan Institute, thinks Trump might be holding back because he doesn’t trust particular news outlets, saying it’s similar to why Kamala Harris didn’t want to be on Fox News.
But, the Trump defence didn’t sit well with Swisher who claimed that Trump is deliberately avoiding another debate with Harris to sidestep a potential “Biden moment”. “This last week there’s been several appearances where his cognitive challenges are clear and so when he’s pushed in any way or when that debate happened with Kamala Harris, he has issues,” she said.
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Referring to Biden’s moment where the President of the United States was forced to step down because of questions being raised on his mental sharpness, fueled by embarrassing public gaffes, where Trump too took a dig, Swisher added, “We talked about it with Biden. It’s so clear from so many of the speeches this week that he loses words, he mixes up people, he doesn’t want that contrast because she doesn’t do that. So he’s not going to appear near her.”
On October 5, Donald Trump returned to Butler, Pennsylvania, where he previously held a rally on July 13 and narrowly avoided an assassination attempt when a bullet grazed his ear. Trump was joined by Elon Musk and his running mate, JD Vance. While MAGA supporters hailed his ‘guts’ for returning to a place that may still haunt him, Trump was also able to pull in a vast crowd, with polls showing his growing popularity in key battleground states.
During the rally, Trump honored slain firefighter Corey Comperatore and the others injured during the assassination attempt. Addressing Helen Comperatore, the late firefighter’s widow, he said, “To Helen and the entire family, I can only begin to imagine the depths of your grief. I know he’s looking down on us right now from heaven, smiling at his beloved wife.”
According to Pennsylvania State Police officials, around 21,000 people turned out to give Trump a ‘hero’s welcome.’ “I will never quit, I will never bend, I will never break, I will never yield — not even in the face of death itself,” Trump said, addressing the crowd and receiving cheers. “We have fought together. We have endured together. We have pushed onward together. And right here in Pennsylvania, we have bled together.”