Fox News analyst: Donald Trump had ‘a bad night’ in Kamala Harris debate

Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume ripped former President Trump for his debate performance on Tuesday night. Most analysts, along with the predictive markets, said Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, was trounced by Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.

“Make no mistake about it, Trump had a bad night. He rose to the bait repeatedly when she baited him, something I’m sure his advisers had begged him not to do. You know, in the first debate when Biden attacked him, he just kept his cool and kept going,” he said in his post-debate analysis on Fox News.

“In this debate, he rose to the bait, and we heard so many of the old grievances that that we’d long thought that Trump had learned were not winners politically,” he added.

Trump’s first debate with Harris stood in stark contrast to his previous debate with President Joe Biden. Trump appeared to be rattled by some of Harris’ comments, raising his voice at times and offering rambling answers to the ABC News moderators’ questions.

Hume went on to add that Harris came out of the debate “in pretty good shape” and that it was “her night.” Despite offering her praise, he conceded earlier that she dodged questions on her past stances, suggesting that they have changed over the years.

“She never had to account for her changes,” he added.

Other Fox News analysts also praised Harris for her performance. Host Bret Baier said that the vice president was “clearly well-prepared, practiced, on the offensive much of the night,” while Trump “did take a lot of the bait she threw out.”

Other conservatives also criticized Trump’s performance. Conservative pundit Erick Erickson said that criticizing the debate moderators was not an excuse for Trump’s performance.

“Trump lost the debate and whining about the moderators doesn’t change it. He didn’t lose because of their behavior. He lost because of his own performance while his lips were moving, not theirs,” Erickson wrote on X.

Alyssa Farah Griffin, who previously worked in Trump’s White House, blasted the former president on X.

“The moderators are not the problem. The wildly unprepared, undisciplined GOP candidate is the problem. Republicans had a chance to nominate someone who could discuss policy rather than crowd size. But R’s chose this,” she wrote.

Trump’s allies were quick to criticize how ABC’s David Muir and Linsey Davis moderated the debate. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on social media platform X that the debate was “the worst moderated debate in history.”

In a statement following the debate, the Trump campaign said the former president “was the clear winner tonight, and he will win for America when he returns to the White House.”

When asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about whether he took the “bait” from Harris, Trump argued Tuesday night that this was his “best debate.”

Meanwhile, the Harris campaign has touted the vice president’s performance and has suggested a second debate between her and Trump.

“Under the bright lights, the American people got to see the choice they will face this fall at the ballot box: between moving forward with Kamala Harris, or going backwards with Trump. That’s what they saw tonight and what they should see at a second debate in October. Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?” Harris-Walz campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement.