Shortly after their first matchup on Sept. 10, Vice President Kamala Harris quickly signaled she wanted another, while Trump said there would be no more. Harris has attempted to goad Trump into a debate by portraying his refusal as cowardice, a move now being taken to a new level by the DNC. They debuted an ad campaign portraying Trump as a chicken and revealed plans to have a staffer dressed as a chicken attend a Trump rally.

“It wasn’t so long ago that Donald Trump boasted he’d debate ‘anytime, anywhere,’ but after Vice President Kamala Harris held him to account for his failures as president and dangerous second term agenda in their first debate, it’s no surprise Trump’s turned chicken — too scared to face the music again,” said Abhi Rahman, the DNC’s deputy communications director.

“The American people deserve another opportunity to hear Vice President Harris and Donald Trump lay out their starkly different visions for our country side by side before Election Day,” he continued. “Instead, Trump is busy hiding from the American people because he knows they’ll reject his Project 2025 agenda to hike taxes on the middle class, ban abortion nationwide, and use the federal government to assert virtually unchecked power over our daily lives. The American people deserve so much better — and they’ll get it with future President Kamala Harris.”

The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 was formed well before Trump announced his 2024 candidacy, and he has repeatedly distanced himself from it. Democrats have latched on to portraying the project as Trump’s blueprint for a second term, citing his relationships with those who work on it.

The DNC released a preview of its billboard image, which featured a doctored photo of Trump in a chicken costume holding a sign saying, “I’m afraid to debate.”

Trump originally proposed three debates, but Harris only accepted the ABC News debate. Harris recently accepted a CNN invitation to debate on Oct. 23, weeks before the election. Trump rejected the invitation.

Harris, though viewed favorably in the debate by some analysts, failed to see the event have any tangible impact on polling. Her team is likely hoping for a knockout blow in a rematch.