Donald Trump has announced he will not participate in another televised debate with his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of November's presidential election.
"THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!" the Republican candidate wrote on his Truth Social platform, including in his tally the earlier debate with US President Joe Biden in June and his Tuesday showdown with Ms Harris.
The Democratic candidate put Mr Trump on the defensive in their ABC News-hosted clash, watched by 67 million people. Almost immediately, her campaign called for a second showdown in October.
The day after the debate, Donald Trump said he "would do NBC and would do Fox, too."
However, his latest statement, issued in his characteristic mix of all-caps segments and insults, made clear he has bowed out, while claiming that Harris is just desperate for a second chance.
"Polls clearly show that I won the Debate against Comrade Kamala Harris, the Democrats' Radical Left Candidate, on Tuesday night, and she immediately called for a Second Debate," he wrote in his post.
"When a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are, 'I WANT A REMATCH,'" he said.
A CNN snap poll of viewers said Ms Harris performed better than Mr Trump by 63 to 37%, while a YouGov poll said Harris laid out a clearer plan by 43 to 32%.
A debate between the vice presidential running mates, Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Republican Senator JD Vance, from Ohio, is currently set to be hosted by CBS News on 1 October.
8 takeaways from the Harris-Trump presidential debate
Meanwhile, a government building and school were evacuated after an alleged bomb threat in Springfield, Ohio, local media reported, rattling the small city at the heart of an anti-migrant conspiracy theory amplified by Donald Trump during Tuesday's debate.
Springfield has been thrust into the spotlight in recent days after an unfounded story of Haitian migrants eating pets went viral on social media, with the Republican ex-president and current White House candidate pushing the narrative despite it being debunked.
Democrats have accused Mr Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, of fanning racial tensions as they use the Springfield conspiracy theory to elevate immigration as a campaign issue ahead of November's election.
Despite local officials saying they had received no credible reports of pets being stolen and eaten, Mr Trump repeated the claim during his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.
"Due to a bomb threat that was issued to multiple facilities throughout Springfield today, City Hall is closed today," a post on the municipal government's Facebook page said.
"City officials were alerted to this threat via an email message this morning at 8.24am. The email was sent to multiple agencies and media outlets," it added.
Fulton Elementary School was also evacuated, though it was not immediately clear if it was related to the same bomb threat.
Arriving at the school to retrieve his child, Haitian immigrant Mackenso Roseme told AFP that the current tensions in the community were "worrying".
"I'm a little stressed. I think something might happen," he said.
A sign in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole informed Roseme and other parents that the students had been moved to a high school.
The bomb threat came from someone claiming to be from Springfield and mentioned Haitian immigration issues, the local Springfield News-Sun newspaper reported Mayor Rob Rue as saying.
Despite the bomb threats, Donald Trump was still reposting memes related to the conspiracy theory hours later on his Truth Social platform.
He claimed Ohio was being "inundated with Illegal Migrants, mostly from Haiti, who are taking over Towns and Villages at a level and rate never seen before".
The White House had warned that such rhetoric could lead to real-life dangers in the community.
"This kind of disinformation is dangerous because there will be people that believe it, no matter how ludicrous and stupid it is, and they might act on that kind of information and act on it in a way where somebody could get hurt," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
Springfield, with a population of about 58,000, has seen an increase in Haitian immigrants in recent years, 10,000 to 15,000 according to the Springfield News-Sun.
Social services, schools and housing have been stressed in the city for years, with some pointing to migration as a factor.
