After presidential debates, partisans often declare that their favorite candidate is the winner. That isn’t easy in situations where one candidate thoroughly dominates the other.
That happened when Donald Trump debated Joe Biden in June, a rare debate performance that led to a candidate dropping out of the race. And that appears to have happened again on Tuesday when Kamala Harris debated Trump.
Fox News is often Trump’s safe space, even in otherwise tricky moments. But not even Fox was able to sugarcoat how things went for Trump on Tuesday night.
Republican Voters Against Trump put out a supercut of what was said on Fox that night, dramatically scored by Vivaldi:
Even Fox News knows Kamala Harris won the debate. pic.twitter.com/KuTywJ85P1
— Republican Voters Against Trump (@AccountableGOP) September 11, 2024
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Anchor Bret Baier described Harris as “clearly well-prepared, practiced [and] on the offensive for most of the night,” while adding that Trump “took a lot of the bait that she threw out.”
Brit Hume declared, “make no mistake about it: Trump had a bad night,” also agreeing that Trump could not resist the urge to take Harris’ bait, and resurface “so many of the old grievances.”
Harold Ford, Jr., a former Democratic Congressman appearing on Fox after the debate, quoted Republican friends as calling Trump’s debate performance a “trainwreck.”
“She conveyed the calm,” he said of Harris. “She conveyed a preparation. She was tenacious on Russia.”
Even Fox primetime host Jesse Watters, known as more of a partisan, declared “this was rough.” Another longtime Trump loyalist, Laura Ingraham, acknowleged that Trump “missed opportuntiies.”
There was also some grumbling, from Fox, about “bias” from the moderators.
“There were moments where it felt like they were helping her out,” anchor Martha MacCallum said shortly after the end of the event. She added that Trump “went down some cat and dog holes.”
You want to know how bad a night it was for Trump?
Fox News immediately reacts by whining about how the moderators were biased against Trump.
“There were moments where it felt like they were helping her out.” pic.twitter.com/ivU2n82UrL
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 11, 2024
It was quickly clear that Trump had been watching the Fox post-debate coverage.
Trump called into Fox on Wednesday morning, telling the Fox and Friends hosts that while he might not do another debate, but that if he does, he would prefer someone “other than Martha and Bret” serve as moderator should Fox host such a debate, referencing what those Fox hosts had said on television “last night.”
He specifcally mentioned wanting Sean Hannity, Ingraham, or Watters to moderate, something the Harris side would appear unlikely to agree to.
Live on Fox, Trump insults the two Fox anchors who have been pitched as debate moderators – Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum – and says “I wouldn’t want to have” them. He says he would want Sean Hannity, Jesse Watters or Laura Ingraham to host instead. (An obvious non-starter.) pic.twitter.com/uXVJtnYn8L
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 11, 2024
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
