A growing number of Republican voices are calling for former President Donald Trump to reconsider his decision not to participate in a second debate with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

Despite evidence that he emerged victorious from their first encounter, several prominent GOP figures are expressing the view that another debate could benefit both Trump and the party’s messaging efforts in key battleground state’s where the former president lost in 2020 by razor thin margins.

In Arizona for example, Trump lost by 0.3% (around 10,000 votes) and in Georgia by about 0.2%

Senate Republican Whip John Thune of South Dakota told the Associated Press that a second debate “would be helpful” for Trump while Senator Rick Scott of Florida described a second debate as an “opportunity” for the former president.

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis echoed these sentiments, suggesting that another debate could address critical issues like border security.

“It makes a lot more sense to, instead of talking about cats and dogs, talk about 1.5 million got-aways,” Tillis said. “That’s a lot more frightening to me, and it’s a real threat.”

Even Republican New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who has been critical of Trump in the past, has come out against the former president’s decision to avoid a second debate.

“Look, anytime you can spend more time in front of the voters when you’re in a close race, it’s a positive,” Sununu said. There’s an opportunity there, but they have to use the opportunity the right way and really re-establish a connection with those voters that they had in 2016.”

National polls aggregated by FiveThirtyEight suggest that a majority of debate watchers believed Harris performed better, with an average of 57% favoring the vice president’s performance.

Whether these left-wing polls will sway the former president’s decision remains to be seen.

Image - Reuters