In a discussion on CNN of the debate held on Tuesday night between Democratic presidential nominee and current Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican pick Donald Trump, Chris Wallace — formerly associated with Fox News — said Trump “looked old.” Wallace was comparing how the two candidates came across, image-wise.
“The image of the debate to me is, she’s there, happy, smiling, expressive, shaking her head at and dismayed at things Trump was saying. And Trump looked angriest, scowling. She was looking directly at the audience. He was looking at the moderators and arguing with them and something else,” Wallace said. “He was — Donald Trump looked old tonight. And you know, somebody said on my show on Saturday, she wins just by showing up. I didn’t know that that was going to be true. I think it was.”
Even the polling that Trump keeps referencing as supposedly indicating his debate performance was received well among viewers is failing him. Polling from Insider Advantage and the Trafalgar Group that asked participants who they thought won the debate and was spotlighted on the conservative network Newsmax gave Harris, not Trump, the lead. The polling specifically targeted likely voters in electoral battleground states, and about 55 percent of them said that Harris won the face-off. For Trump, 42.5 percent backed him.
The numbers were spotlighted on social media by journalist Aaron Rupar.
Now, Trump is throwing cold water on the prospect of even having any more debates with Harris, although he has previously talked up a possibility of multiple face-offs rather than just one. The Harris campaign, meanwhile, started pushing quickly after this first debate for another one. Their prevailing strategy seems to be that letting Trump’s particularities speak for themselves when feasible will push voters away from his… particular political approach.
