The answer to this is obvious. Trump is a proven terrible debater who does not practice and cannot control his emotions. But, but, but …
No Second Debate
The Wall Street Journal reports Trump Rejects Second Debate With Harris
“Kamala should focus on what she should have done during the last almost four year period,” Trump wrote Thursday, in all caps, on social media. “There will be no third debate!”
Trump claimed he won the Tuesday debate, though the vice president was widely seen as having the better night. “When a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are, “I WANT A REMATCH,” he wrote.
Asked if Trump was in fact ruling out a debate, a spokeswoman said in an email, “You heard the man!”
Harris, meanwhile, again called for the candidates to meet one more time. “I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate,” she said Thursday at a rally in Charlotte, N.C.—minutes after Trump’s announcement.
Kudos to Nate Silver for suggesting in advance there would be no second debate.
And despite Trump proclaiming he won, heck, not even Fox News believes so.
Clear Winner?
Fox News writer Doug Schoen comments In the Trump-Harris faceoff there was a clear winner but don’t believe this election is over
It’s pretty clear to me that on Tuesday night, Vice President Kamala Harris won what may be the only debate between herself and former President Trump. The vice president had some help, too. She was aided and abetted by two ABC News moderators who seemingly felt the need to fact-check virtually everything the former president said.
The former president was clearly frustrated and became more strident and divisive as the nearly two-hour debate continued. And the vice president appeared to gain renewed confidence as she saw Trump faltering under relentless questioning from herself and moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis.
To be sure, Harris had better answers on abortion, health care, climate change and leadership for the future. That much is clear. But what is also clear is that what Trump said in his closing statement remains the case.
Voters remain angry about the direction the country is headed, about the performance of both President Biden and Harris, as well as which candidate they trust more on the top two or three issues facing the country: the economy, immigration and law and order.
That analysis is mostly spot on. And opinions articles like the above are not typical of Fox News.
More Fox News Commentary
Also note this Fox News report Fox News Voter Panel Says Harris Won Debate
That was a tiny panel but the comments are instructive.
Checking in with Robert F. Kennedy (RFK), Fox News reports Kamala Harris ‘Clearly Won the Debate in Terms of Her Delivery’: RFK, Jr.
A Catastrophic Debate for Trump
Wall Street Journal writer Karl Rove was not as kind. Rove calls it a A Catastrophic Debate for Trump.
Tuesday’s debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was a train wreck for him, far worse than anything Team Trump could have imagined.
Ms. Harris was often on offense, leaving Mr. Trump visibly rattled as she launched rocket after rocket at him. A New York Times analysis found she spent 46% of her time on the attack while Mr. Trump devoted 29% of his time to going after her. Debates aren’t won on defense.
Ms. Harris pressed Mr. Trump on the economy, the Ukraine war, foreign policy, healthcare, the Jan. 6 attack and especially abortion, leaving him flustered and often incoherent. In return, he criticized her on border security, climate change and the Israel-Hamas war.
Mr. Trump had to know the vice president would try to get him to lose his cool. She did. She went after him on his multiple indictments. She called him “weak” and belittled him as a six-time bankrupt, spoiled inheritor of wealth. She said his former national security adviser thought him, in her words, “dangerous and unfit” for the Oval Office.
As is frequently the case with Mr. Trump, he let his emotions get the better of him. He took the bait almost every time she put it on the hook, offering a pained smile as she did. Rather than dismissing her attacks and launching his strongest counterarguments against her, Mr. Trump got furious. As her attacks continued, his voice rose. He gripped the podium more often and more firmly. He grimaced and shook his head, at times responding with wild and fanciful rhetoric. Short, deft replies and counterpunches would have been effective. He didn’t deliver them.
Mr. Trump did a terrible job at his most important task—tying her to President Biden’s failed policies. He did an even worse job prosecuting the argument that she’s a far-left politician out of sync with America’s values. The Trump campaign’s mid-debate fact-check bulletins that flooded email inboxes were far more substantive and effective than his responses at the podium.
Mr. Trump’s failure wasn’t for a lack of material. He had plenty in the Biden-Harris administration’s record to work with, especially on inflation and the crisis at the border. In one of his strongest moments, he hit hard on the botched Afghan withdrawal. Even then, he got sucked into an argument about his administration’s negotiations with the Taliban.
All of the above is true.
I am amused by Rove’s comment “offering a pained smile” because that is exactly how I saw it.
Debate night I commented on my blog “Harris looked like she had a phony smile most of the evening.”
Terrible Responses
Trump wasted time disputing people left his rallies early.
And his abortion answer was a disaster. When asked if he would sign legislation banning abortion Trump refused to answer the question. He should have been prepared for this question.
The correct answer is: “Of course. This is a states rights issue. If I signed it, the Supreme Court would overrule it. I care about constitutional issues, Kamala Harris doesn’t. The same applies to student debt. This administration constantly flouts the Supreme Court.”
Trump was not prepared for any question.
Q: Why?
A: Trump has said repeatedly he does not need to prepare for debates.
This is part of his arrogant, narcissist, know-it-all mentality. And he claims to be the world’s best negotiator.
There’s another hoot. Good negotiators don’t get baited into stupid answers.
Perhaps with that statement, I lost some readers. So be it. But …..
But Catastrophic?
Dear Mr. Rove, please be serious. If it costs Trump the election it would be catastrophic. But … this debate will not cost Trump the election.
Next consider the WSJ Op-Ed Kamala’s Problem the Debate Didn’t Fix by
Kimberley A. Strassel.
Less than eight weeks from the presidential election, there are two wildly different narratives of this race: the one presented by the press, and the one experienced by average voters. No points for guessing which is more accurate.
Tuesday’s debate postmortem is the best example yet. The press is fist-pumping over Kamala Harris’s “win,” how she went about “eviscerating [Donald] Trump,” how she turned in (no joke) “one of the more resounding debate performances in recent decades.” Republicans are still stewing over biased moderators, even as they grudgingly admit Mr. Trump blew it. Social media is mixed on whether Taylor Swift’s endorsement seals victory for the vice president.
Back in the real world, this is all ridiculous. There was no winner in this televised scrum; only a nation of hardworking losers. Millions of Americans came home after a long day of work and tuned in hoping for answers to their daily struggles with inflation, migrants, crime. They instead got moderators obsessed with Beltway-bubble issues, and candidates who relitigated old disputes.
Ms. Harris’s standing with working-class voters is the worst of any Democrat in modern history. Barack Obama lost the white working class by 20 points in 2012, Joe Biden by 26 in 2020. The most recent Times poll has Ms. Harris behind by 36. That number has barely budged since July, despite five weeks of “joy.”
Also on the WSJ, James Freeman asked Why Don’t Harris Supporters Believe Her History?
Many swing voters say they don’t know enough about Vice President Kamala Harris’s record and plans for another term in Washington to make a decision about her candidacy. But even admirers who ought to know all about her recent history don’t seem able to believe it.
But, But, But This Was Three-On-One Debate
Yes, the fact checking was totally one-sided. It was so bad that some claim ABC won the debate.
OK, the fact checking was one-sided.
But Trump missed a clean home run opportunity to point that out. He could have hit a home run against Harris and ABC by calmly asking ….
“How come the fact checking is one sided? Why didn’t you fact check Harris on Project 25? On the costs of tariffs?”
The rest of the fact checking was self-imposed. It was stupid of Trump to make controversial claims. Instead of talking about Haitians eating cats (whether true or not), Trump should have focused on immigration crime, diseases like tuberculous (now spreading due to immigration), and the fact that immigration demand is pushing up the cost of housing.
These are not after-the-fact assessments, these were my thoughts real time.
Trump was totally unprepared for any question. And every question was easy to have foreseen!
So don’t tell me Harris knew the questions. The local barber knew the questions. Everyone did.
Who Won the Debate? Ask Me in a Week to 10 Days
On Wednesday, I commented Who Won the Debate? Ask Me in a Week to 10 Days
I am hearing mostly rah-rahs for Harris. And the instant polls show Harris was perceived as the winner. But did she pick up votes? For how long?
I believe that snip is the wrong framework.
I like Strassel’s comment: “There was no winner in this televised scrum; only a nation of hardworking losers.“
And I like Doug Schoen’s observation: “Voters remain angry about the direction the country is headed, about the performance of both President Biden and Harris, as well as which candidate they trust more on the top two or three issues facing the country: the economy, immigration and law and order.
Even if Trump somehow picks up in the polls, he did not win in any sense of the word. He had it in his power to clobber Harris and didn’t.
What About Nobody?
It was that poll that inspired my poll.
Nearly 50 percent of my Twitter followers thought Trump won.
It’s delusional to believe Trump won. You don’t hit 2 out of 8 layups (if that) against a person in wheelchair who only hits one, then brag about winning.
This much is clear: Trump lost, the nation lost, and so did ABC.
Even if Harris picks up in the poll, factoring in her elusive answers, will it last?
The Top Issue Is the Economy
Trump inaccurately stated the economy lost 10,000 manufacturing jobs. It was 24,000 as I commented in real time watching the debate.
“Let me just tell you, they lost 10,000 manufacturing jobs this last month,” said Trump. Too bad there was not a fact check on that.
Note that BLS Negative Job Revisions 15 of Last 21 Months
And the current economic headline conditions are worse than the conditions heading into the 7th month of the Great Recession.
For discussion, please see Fed Beige Book Shows Flat or Declining Economy in 9 of 12 Fed Districts
Trump should have been well versed in all of that. He was more concerned about disputing the size of his rallies.
Finally, please see The McKelvey Recession Indicator Triggered, But What Are the Odds?
I have the odds a recession at well over 50 percent. A recession stands to bail out Trump from his mistakes.