Trump slammed over latest 'mind dumbing' lie about presidential debate with Harris on 'Gutfeld!'

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Former President Donald Trump has stirred controversy once again, this time by making a baffling claim about his presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris on September 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. 

Despite the fact that there was no audience present at the debate — similar to his previous debate with President Joe Biden — Trump told Fox News' Greg Gutfeld that the nonexistent crowd “went crazy.”

Trump speaks of nonexistent debate ‘audience’

During his appearance on Wednesday’s 'Gutfeld!', Donald Trump reminisced about the debate hosted by ABC News and moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis.

Conservatives and centrist pundits alike had already taken issue with the moderators' fact-checking during the debate, which saw the GOP nominee's more outrageous claims — like his assertion that Haitian migrants are stealing and eating pets in Ohio — come under scrutiny.

Critics were also frustrated that Harris’s statements went uncorrected, with a CNN fact check revealing that Trump made at least 33 false statements compared to Harris’ one.

Notably, just like Trump’s June debate with President Biden, this event also took place without an audience.

“And they didn’t correct her once,” Trump told host Gutfeld. “And they corrected me, everything I said, practically. I think nine times or 11 times. And the audience was absolutely– they went crazy.” The 45th president described it as a “great debate” and highlighted its impressive ratings.

Trump's misguided recollection was accompanied by a defense of his performance. “You have to do well,” he said, defending the debate. “You can’t do badly.”

Despite the online storm over his remarks, Trump continued his campaign rhetoric during a Long Island rally, making alarming statements about migrants and predicting a victory in New York - where he had previously lost by more than 20 points in 2016 and 2020.

Trump accuses Haitian migrants of 'eating the pets' 

The 90-minute debate, which was their first head-to-head clash since President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, covered a range of topics including the economy, abortion, immigration, and healthcare.

During the fiery debate, Trump repeated debunked claims that Haitian migrants were stealing and eating pets in Ohio. “In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in,” the twice-impeached president alleged. “They're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there.”

Harris, whose microphone was off at the time, appeared to mouth "What?" and shook her head in disbelief. ABC's Muir, one of the debate moderators, quickly fact-checked Trump, stating that the city manager and police in Springfield found "no credible reports" of such incidents.

Trump responded defiantly, saying, "We'll see," and insisted that he had seen reports on TV. When Harris’ mic was back on, she simply chuckled and remarked, "Talk about extreme." 

Netizens react to Donald Trump’s debate claims

As Donald Trump revisited his recent debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, the online reaction was swift and scathing. 

"The distortion of reality is just mind-numbing. ...or mind DUMBING? Either way, he does not seem "well," tweeted a user.

"He's mentally not well. Seriously in cognitive decline, and media says Nothing. After his disastrous, incoherent performance there should have been calls from media that he wasn't up for the job," said a second.

"Narcissists live in their own delusional made up reality," a third claimed.

"The audience. The 75 Million watching. Your hatred is getting old and worn out," read a tweet.

"He is such a liar!" penned a user.

"Kamala wiped the floor with him. And he thinks he did well," stated a user.

"That's the kind of ruthless liar he is. It doesn't matter how absurd the lie is, he'll tell it," asserted another.

"Wow, Trump’s really out here turning empty rooms into sold-out concerts! Next, he'll claim he got a standing ovation from the furniture," tweeted a user.

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