Trump wants a debate about his pointless election. He has lost that argument many times.

What a televised debate would do is give Trump the opportunity to make bombastic statements that would contribute to creating a sense that something, somewhere, might be sideways. This has always been Trump’s approach: unleashing a dust storm of accusations, allowing people to pick out even one that seems correct, and use that to cast doubt on their opponents. He doesn’t need people to believe all of his stripped-down claims, just one. Then he made his point. And no matter how good his opponents are, no one can refute every claim fully in real time, especially since Trump simply makes new accusations every day.