After Kamala Harris walked off the debate stage on Tuesday night, Brian Fallon, the top Harris adviser leading debate negotiations, tweeted the following:

Kamala Harris hammered home her point at the rally in Charlotte on Thursday, saying:

I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate because this election and what is at stake could not be more important.

The Harris campaign’s desire for a second debate raised some questions. By all accounts, Harris mopped the floor with Trump. After Trump won the debate against Biden in June, he immediately ruled out a second debate. Why give his opponent another opportunity to improve public perception? Trump has used this twisted logic to argue that he won the debate with Harris (He didn’t!). Trump posted on Truth Social:

In the World of Boxing or UFC, when a Fighter gets beaten or knocked out, they get up and scream, ‘I DEMAND A REMATCH, I DEMAND A REMATCH!’ Well, it’s no different with a Debate. She was beaten badly last night. 

Trump has ruled out another debate, but Trump is a liar. He backed out of this past debate with Harris several times. So, I am not prepared to take his word that he won’t debate again.

If Harris won the debate overwhelmingly, why is she so aggressive in seeking a second debate? And is she right to do so?

Absolutely! Here’s why:

1. The Debate is Unlikely to Shift the Polls Dramatically

It takes about a week to get high quality national and battleground state polls out, and to see real changes after a debate. History, however, shows that while debates are crucial, they don’t move the polls much. Even the Biden-Trump debate, where Biden’s performance was so bad that it eventually ended his candidacy, barely moved the polls — the polling average shifted little more than 1 point in the week after the debate. Similarly, the first debates in 2020 and 2016 moved the polls less than 2 points...