Republicans are disappointed with former President Trump’s debate performance this week, irritated by his inability to ignore the bait from Vice President Harris throughout the night.
Trump and his allies have accused ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis of fact-checking them unequally. They argue the moderators asked Trump follow-up questions but let Harris off the hook.
But The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports that Senate Republicans blame Trump for failing to ask Harris pointed questions and pin down her record. They’re also worried that Trump’s rants will be the main takeaway for undecided voters who tuned in on Tuesday night.
Anecdotally, I haven’t been able to scroll through social media platforms for very long without seeing a joke about Trump and the unfounded conspiracy theory about migrants eating pets.
But how much damage did Trump do?:
🫲 On one hand, Republican pollster Frank Luntz predicted that Trump’s debate performance will cost him the election. Read his reasoning
🫱 On the other hand, Politico’s Charlie Mahtesian argues that’s a dangerous perception to think one debate can hurt Trump’s chances. Read his argument: ‘The danger of underestimating Donald Trump’
For what it’s worth: Former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested the debate could hurt Trump’s support among independent voters.
This post-debate talk seems to be getting under Trump’s skin: Trump ripped Fox News host Neil Cavuto for saying that Trump lost this week’s debate. “Neil Cavuto, Fox’s Lowest Rated Anchor, is one of the WORST on Television. I actually prefer the losers at CNN and MSDNC,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social website Wednesday.
What about a second debate?: Trump allies are urging him to accept Harris’s invitation for a second debate — and some Senate Republicans agree, report The Hill’s Al Weaver and Alex Gangitano.
Harris is using the debate to troll Trump: Harris’s campaign posted most of Tuesday’s debate on the social platform X, referring to it as a new ad. “Our newest ad just dropped,” captioned the debate video. See the Kamala HQ post