- JL Partners surveyed 1,000 likely voters and asked if they wanted a second debate
Ask any Donald Trump fan at his Wednesday night rally on Long Island whether he should debate Kamala Harris again and the answer is unanimous: yes.
“I think you should try it,” said Andrew Peters, a 49-year-old auto body shop owner, wearing a “F**k Hamas” T-shirt. “What does he have to lose?”
Trump has repeatedly rejected the idea after declaring himself the winner of last week’s televised meeting.
But a poll by JL Partners for DailyMail.com shows that American voters overwhelmingly favor a second showdown between the two candidates, with a clear majority of voters being Trump’s own supporters.
A survey of 1,000 likely voters found that 63 percent said they would have to meet again on the debate stage.
Only 19 percent indicated that this was not necessary.
When only Republicans were considered, 54 percent wanted a second debate, and that grew to 59 percent of those who said they would vote for Trump themselves in November.
Harris was widely seen as the one who had defeated Trump during last week’s ABC debate in Philadelphia. According to experts, focus groups and a DailyMail.com poll, she had managed to get on the former president’s nerves.
It is therefore not surprising that more than 70 percent of Democrats said they wanted to run against each other again.
Within minutes of the first debate, Harris’ campaign even challenged Trump to a second debate.
But Trump quickly rejected her offer.
“When a boxer loses a fight, the first words he says are, ‘I want a rematch,’” he posted on his platform Truth Social.
James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, said it was perhaps no surprise that voters wanted to see more from the two candidates.
“Voters feel that there has been more enthusiasm than enthusiasm during this campaign. It is therefore not surprising that they want to see more of the candidates and know more details about their plans,” he said.
Trump and Harris clashed for more than 90 minutes in Tuesday’s ABC News debate
‘About one in 10 likely voters are undecided. We know from our post-debate poll in the Daily Mail that independents are most interested in learning more about Harris’ agenda.’
Trump was in New York on Wednesday night, where he welcomed thousands of supporters to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island.
Speaking to DailyMail.com before the event, Robert Anderson spoke on behalf of many who said the moderators of the first debate were biased against Trump.
He favored a second debate if there were guarantees, he said, and Trump would be on a level playing field.
“I think if they had a neutral party like Fox or Newsmax … Greg Kelly as moderator, I think everybody would welcome it,” he said, referring to the Newsmax host.
“I think everyone can see that the first debate was so biased that I think people would want to be there.”
JL Partners polled 800 independent voters who watched last week’s debate. Voters said Kamala Harris made them feel hopeful and confident, but also irritated
Fox News had suggested September 17 for a third debate, but the date passed without an agreement being reached.
Johnson said it was clear that Trump’s supporters wanted him to participate in the debate again.
“If he can learn from his past mistakes, temper his rhetoric, avoid Harris’ jibes and attack his opponent on the right points, he can turn the tide and erase Harris’ unassailable lead from the first debate,” he said.
“But there’s one complication: Does anyone think Trump is actually capable of doing that? If the campaign’s assessment is that he can’t, then perhaps the best political advice for him is to skip a runoff against Harris.”