Earlier this year, former President Donald Trump boldly declared that he was willing to debate Joe Biden “ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE.”
Biden’s public collapse during the June debate was a dream come true for Trump’s campaign, which waltzed into the Republican National Convention in a cloud of overconfidence. Biden’s exit from the race — and Vice President Kamala Harris’ rise to the candidacy — threw a bucket of cold water over the elation in Trump’s camp.
Tuesday night’s presidential debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was critical to both candidates — and Harris clearly triumphed.
Throughout the 90-minute debate, Trump fell for obvious traps laid by Harris, raged at his opponent and the moderators, and broadcast lies and misinformation to a national audience. The Harris campaign quickly decided that they would love for the vice president to have another opportunity to dismantle her opponent on live television, and put out a call for a second debate minutes after the first one concluded.
In the hour directly following the debate, Trump allies and aides who flooded the media area near the venue were eager to suggest that Trump was ready and game for any and all opportunities to take on Harris face-to-face again — anytime, anywhere, anyplace right?
“Last I checked, we’ve already said yes to NBC on Sept. 25,” Brian Hughes, a Trump senior adviser, said in the spin room shortly after the debate wrapped on Tuesday. “Beyond that, we’ll have to look at it … I’m not gonna jump into this … We’ll look at it, but I know that NBC had offered [their debate] … It’s interesting [Team Harris] couldn’t say yes earlier.”
However, as the hours passed, the tune changed.
R&I – TP
Ballast
Article URL : https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-allies-second-debate-harris-bad-idea-1235100157/