And now, a quick message to Republicans in the wake of Tuesday night’s presidential debate: HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAAA! Are you kidding? That babbling idiot is your standard-bearer? Well done!
With one shrewd remark early in the debate, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris shattered any veneer of sanity surrounding Donald Trump, bringing him to his true, gibberish, unhinged form. Often incomprehensible, full of anger and resentment, a dunce for the ages, and a tragic figure to whom the GOP is utterly wed.
Harris did what Trump finds unthinkable. She correctly said that people often leave his rallies “out of exhaustion and boredom” because it’s always the same old thing.
One punch from Harris and Trump was knocked out of the debate
And that was all it took. Trump wasn’t very forthcoming to begin with, but after that subtle jab he went nuts, and there aren’t enough antacids in the world to calm the stomachs of honest Republicans who’ve watched the rest.
He got angry, started grumbling about immigrants and even made an unfounded, racist claim that has become common in far-right circles lately.
Asked about his recent comment that he had lost the last election “narrowly” — the first time he has admitted losing the 2020 presidential election — Trump replied, “Did I say that?” He then went on to insist that he had won the last election, which is crazy talk.
Trump ranted angrily and showed debate viewers exactly who he is
On race, Trump said of Harris, “I read that she said she’s not black.”
When asked about a health care plan, something he has been promising forever but never delivers on, he said he has “drafts of a plan.”
At one point he said he was listing two things regarding immigration, but he listed three: “We need two things: We need walls, we need borders, and we need good elections.”
What?
Trump is crazy: Trump is 78 and barely coherent. Where are all the people who questioned Biden’s age and fitness?
Biden’s debate flop seemed unmatched. Trump simply matched it—and more.
While the first debate was a disaster for President Joe Biden — a disaster that led to him resigning and Harris taking over — this debate was an embarrassment for Trump and Republicans in general.
Trump ranted as if he were reading a Facebook tirade posted by a conspiracy theorist. His face twisted in frustration and anger, and he spouted words and ideas that would only make sense to those living in the deepest fever swamps of the MAGA universe.
Rally Trump is the worst kind of Trump for the GOP
The last thing his campaign, or the party at large, wanted was for Debate Trump to sound like Rally Trump. Rallies are for the fanatical base, and if you haven’t been watching, they’re festivals of sickening rhetoric and insanity. Debates are where Trump is supposed to pretend he’s a serious person who has… you know… ideas and stuff. A guy who understands policy and can at least make people think he’s remotely qualified to return to the White House.
Oops. Harris’s poking of the former president’s fragile ego quickly brought Rally Trump to the forefront, and boy, did he make a mess of it.
The GOP can still save itself: Dick Cheney picks Kamala Harris, giving conservatives one last chance to save the GOP from Trump
“I am a leader in the field of fertilization,” he said as he spoke about abortion and IVF, reportedly causing at least five of his advisers to faint.
He would not answer a question about whether he would veto an abortion ban.
At times he would enter a state of complete stream of consciousness, not answering questions and just spouting lies, as if he had stuffed himself with the idea of dishonesty.
Harris knew exactly how to beat Trump in the debate
And Harris had him on every street corner. After he denied the results of the 2020 election, she said, “It’s clear he’s having a really hard time processing that.”
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It was merciless, launching Trump into a chaotic display of bizarre bleating that should terrify voters and leave Republicans muttering, “Dear Lord, what have we done?”
Harris, again correctly, said of Trump’s loud, dishonest and extreme rhetoric: “Let’s turn the page. Let’s not go back.”
Amen to that.
She said, “The American people are exhausted.”
I imagine a lot of Republicans feel the same way after that huge mess. Exhausted, not hopeful about where the polls are going now and Real and wished they had chosen a candidate who wasn’t like that at all.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on X, formerly Twitter, @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump’s debate performance was a major embarrassment for Republicans
