Republican strategist Karl Rove offers brutal take on Donald Trump's 'catastrophic' debate performance
WASHINGTON, DC: Karl Rove, who served as deputy chief of staff during George W Bush's presidency, excoriated former President Donald Trump's debate performance against Vice President Kamala Harris.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, the Republican strategist described the event as nothing short of a "train wreck" for the GOP nominee.
Karol Rove's analysis of Donald Trump's 'catastrophic' debate performance
Karol Rove labeled Donald Trump's performance during the Tuesday, Septmeber 10 debate as "catastrophic." He went so far as to say that Trump was "crushed by a woman he previously dismissed as 'dumb as a rock.'"
According to him, the former president's showing was "far worse than anything Team Trump could have imagined."
Rove claimed Trump was "visibly rattled" as Harris "launched rocket after rocket at him." An analysis by The New York Times revealed that the Democratic nominee spent a whopping 46 percent of her time on offense, compared to Trump's 29 percent.
"Debates aren’t won on defense," declared the 73-year-old.
Digging deeper, Rove insisted that Trump's emotions got the better of him - a flaw Harris exploited to full advantage.
"He took the bait almost every time she put it on the hook, offering a pained smile as she did," wrote Rove, adding, "Rather than dismissing her attacks and launching his strongest counterarguments against her, Mr Trump got furious."
Things only deteriorated for Trump as the debate wore on, according to Rove. "He gripped the podium more often and more firmly. He grimaced and shook his head, at times responding with wild and fanciful rhetoric," further noted the political consultant.
In Rove’s view, Trump failed in his most critical task, tying Harris to President Joe Biden’s policies. Instead, Trump allowed himself to be dominated by his anger.
"It matters how debating candidates carry themselves. There, it was no contest. Ms. Harris came across as calm, confident, strong, and focused on the future. Mr Trump came across as hot, angry, and fixated on the past, especially his own," highlighted Rove.
"She mastered the split screen, projecting confidence and wordlessly undercutting him by smiling while shaking her head as he spoke," noted the Republican, commending Harris' performance.
While Rove acknowledged that the debate would have an impact on the election, he tempered his analysis with a dose of realism. He concluded that the debate's effect might not be as significant as Harris’ team might hope or as disastrous as Trump’s team might fear.
"But there’s no putting lipstick on this pig," remarked Rove, adding, "Mr Trump was crushed by a woman he previously dismissed as 'dumb as a rock.' Which raises the question: What does that make him?"
Donald Trump thinks he 'won' the debate
True to form, Donald Trump wasn’t shy about defending his performance. Appearing on Fox News' 'Fox & Friends' on Wednesday, the former president insisted that he "did a great job" during the debate.
He also accused the moderators, ABC News' David Muir and Linsey Davis, of being biased toward Harris.
"It was three on one. It was a rigged deal, as I assumed it would be, because when you looked at the fact that they were correcting everything and not correcting with her," said Trump, accusing Harris of lying "six or seven times" without being called out by the moderators.
He even went as far as to suggest that ABC News should lose its license over how it handled the debate. "They’re dishonest. I think ABC took a big hit last night," remarked the GOP nominee.
Despite the criticism and the less-than-stellar reviews, Trump remained defiant. He declared, "I’ve been told I’m a good debater. I think it was one of my better debates, maybe my best debate."
The idea of a second debate with Harris quickly became a hot topic, with Trump claiming that his opponent was pushing for it "because the loser always asks for a rematch."
He further stated, "I won the debate. I don’t know if I want to do another debate."
