In a rare moment of brutal honesty from Fox News, Neil Cavuto pulled no punches on his Coast-to-Coast program, declaring that former President Donald Trump “decisively lost” his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris. “This wasn’t just close,” Cavuto said. “It was a lopsided one.”
Cavuto turned to Fox’s chief political analyst Brit Hume for insight, and Hume echoed the sentiment: “Trump had a bad night. He rose to the bait repeatedly, something his advisers likely begged him not to do.”
Indeed, sources reveal that Trump’s preparation for the debate was more about improvisation than strategy—a major misstep when facing an opponent like Harris, who reportedly took notes from none other than Hillary Clinton. Clinton, reflecting on her own debates with Trump, had advised Harris to “bait him,” a tactic that worked back in 2016. “When I called him a Russian puppet, he sputtered. That’s how you rattle him—get under his skin.”
Trump’s team, including GOP hardliner Matt Gaetz and former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, attempted to brace him for tough questions about his criminal convictions during prep sessions. But their efforts appeared to fall flat as Trump struggled to maintain his composure. Both inside and outside the campaign, critics from both sides of the aisle have noted Trump’s notorious tendency to unravel under pressure—an Achilles’ heel that reared its head once again.
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Cavuto underscored Trump’s shaky performance further, pointing out that while the former president managed to hold it together for the first 10 minutes, he quickly descended into his familiar pattern of bluster and defensiveness. “He didn’t do well against Biden either, but this? This was the worst,” Cavuto concluded.
As the post-debate analysis continues, Trump’s off-the-cuff style may have cost him more than just the debate—signaling deeper cracks in his political facade.
Of course, news of Cavuto’s commentary got to Trump who took to Truth Social saying:
Fox News is among the news networks who have shown their loyalty to Donald Trump but when they don’t fall in line with him, he turns on them as well. Since this debate, he’s been asked if he would do another one but claiming that he wouldn’t need to because he had won.
The Trump-Harris debate aftermath has even his die-hard fans squirming after watching his unraveling performance. Cavuto’s no-nonsense take, backed up by political analysts from all sides, feels like a wake-up call for how people are now sizing up the former president’s vulnerabilities—not just regular folks, but his own party.
Trump’s scattershot messaging, off-the-cuff style, and growing knack for getting rattled are throwing serious shade on his chances in future races. Now that the dust is settling, this debate could go down as the moment his political mojo started to fizzle out, leaving everyone wondering if his bluster alone is enough to keep him afloat in the next election.
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
