Donald Trump flubbed the last debate. His allies know it, his fundraisers know it—but that doesn’t mean they’re willing to admit it.
On Thursday, the Republican presidential nominee announced that he had decided not to debate Vice President Kamala Harris for a second time, writing in a lengthy rant on Truth Social that “THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” (Apparently he’s counting his debate against Joe Biden.)
But less than 24 hours after the major reversal, Trump’s team was already working to explain away why the country would be getting less of their candidate.
Yeah the handshake thing was a power move. I feel like I saw a tiny hesitation before she stepped up to him, probably because you are right about him, she’s a smart woman and has to find him repulsive. But yeah, that handshake put him on the defensive right from the start. And when he started on about people eating cats she seemed honestly amused, which was far more effective than any rebuttal.