Fox News Panel Criticizes Trump’s Debate Performance, Praises Harris’ Preparation
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Following Tuesday night’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, Fox News personalities offered a critical review of Trump’s performance. The panel’s analysis came just moments after the debate, aired on ABC News, concluded.
“Vice President Harris was clearly well-prepared, practiced, and on the offensive much of the night,” noted Fox News anchor Bret Baier. “Former President Trump did take a lot of the bait that she threw out.”
Co-anchor Martha MacCallum voiced her dissatisfaction with the moderators of the debate, arguing that they didn’t challenge Harris enough on her past positions. “I mean, it has to be said that she was really never held to the fire,” MacCallum said. “She was not pressed by the moderators on her past positions and how she got from being the most progressive senator to where she is now. That falls on ABC.”
MacCallum went on to suggest that the moderators were overly lenient on Harris. “There were moments when it felt like they were helping her out and they were not helping him out,” she continued. “There were times when [Trump] didn’t pivot as well as he should have to move on to some of the points that he no doubt wanted to make. He went down a few cat-and-dog holes rather than rabbit holes tonight, which will be discussed.”
Senior analyst Brit Hume echoed these sentiments, emphasizing that Harris never had to fully account for her shifting positions. “She never had to account for her changes. Never,” Hume asserted. He then pointed to Trump’s struggles throughout the debate. “Make no mistake about it. Trump had a bad night. He rose to debate repeatedly when she baited him.”
Hume also speculated that Trump’s advisors likely urged him to avoid certain topics, but the former president nonetheless revisited old grievances. “We heard so many of the old grievances that we’d long thought Trump had learned were not winners politically, and there they all were—talking about how he didn’t lose the election and all that.” Summing up the night, Hume concluded, “My sense is that she came out of this in pretty good shape,” signaling that Harris may have had the upper hand in the exchange.
