Donald Trump’s Debate Performance Ripped by Hometown Newspaper

The editorial board of The Palm Beach Post—former President Donald Trump’s hometown paper—praised Vice President Kamala Harris’ Tuesday night presidential debate performance, declaring the Democratic nominee as the clear winner.

Many signs have pointed to Harris as the victor in her first and possibly only onstage showdown with Trump as the two vie for the Oval Office. Early polling indicates that a majority of viewers believe the vice president outperformed her Republican opponent, and Trump has faced ridicule from members of his own party for failing to stay on topic throughout the 90-minute exchange.

The Post’s editorial board echoed other analysts in an op-ed published Wednesday afternoon, writing that the “first and foremost” win of the night “goes to the American people,” who were given the “chance to see two candidates with two very different political agendas, two contrasting policy priorities and two very distinct visions for the nation they hope to lead.”

“It was clearly Harris for the win Tuesday night,” the editorial board added, writing that pop music megastar Taylor Swift’s endorsement of the vice president was the “cherry on top” for Democrats.

The Post wrote that Harris met “the higher bar set by the news media and a skeptical public.” She presented her platform to voters who may have still been on the fence and “commanded the stage and the debate, looking into the camera to appeal to her audience and confronting Trump with a mix of disdain, humor and an occasional ‘Bless-your-heart’ look of sympathy.”

“In essence, she made her opponent look small,” the paper added. “Trump tried. Unfortunately, for him, his apparent disdain for debate preparation and specific policies showed.”

The editorial board ripped the former president for failing to home in on Harris’ ties to President Joe Biden’s “problematic border policies and inflation,” writing that the former president instead gave a “debate performance devolved into arguing over the size of his campaign rallies and falsely scapegoating immigrants—specifically, Haitians—of eating their Springfield, Ohio neighbors’ pets.”

“His refusal to answer direct questions about a national abortion bill, Ukraine and the 2020 elections didn’t help,” read the op-ed. “Neither did using Hungary’s autocratic Viktor Orban as a job reference.”

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign for comment Wednesday night.

Both campaigns have claimed victory after Tuesday’s debate. Harris’ campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, said in a statement that while the vice president “commanded the stage on every single issue that matters to the American people … Trump was totally incoherent.”

Trump’s team has praised his performance and accused moderators of the debate, hosted by ABC News, of favoring Harris throughout the night. The former president was fact-checked at multiple points after making false statements about Democrats’ position on abortion and unfounded claims that Haitian migrants are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.

Harris’ team immediately challenged Trump to another debate after Tuesday’s matchup, but the former president has suggested that there is no need for him to agree to another, since he “won” the first one. Some experts told Newsweek on Wednesday that there is a chance agreeing to another debate could hurt Trump’s reelection chances in November.

The race for the White House remains increasingly tight, and it remains unclear if Tuesday’s debate will have a major impact on either candidate’s chances.

As the Post’s editorial board wrote Wednesday, “The 2024 presidential campaign remains tight, with polls showing statistical ties in most of the critical swing states where the presidential election will be decided. But, this week’s debate made it more difficult for the ‘undecided voters’ still seeking more information, on either candidate. The debate put the candidates’ views on full display. It remains up to the voters to take notice.”