In the wake of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s performance in his first election debate with Kamala Harris, supporters of Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley have slung criticism at Trump to express their disappointment.
These supporters feel that Trump has too many weaknesses that he had to defend and lamented that their respective candidates would have turned in a much better debate performance.
Presidential Debate
On September 10, Trump and Harris participated in their first presidential debate hosted by ABC News.
The candidates traded shots back and forth for 90 minutes, leading to some intense exchanges.
Harris’ Strategy
Supporters of Trump’s primary challengers like Haley and DeSantis felt that Trump fell victim to Harris’ strategy of goading Trump into anger, forcing him to make mistakes.
“Ambassador Haley would certainly offer a softer tone in debating Kamala Harris and would be able to answer questions about abortion and the economy with more focus, but the campaign itself would be significantly different,” said Republican New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu. “The Democrat’s campaign is entirely structured on making Donald Trump the issue and, by doing so, making him a socially unacceptable alternative for November 2024.”
Debate Perception
Following the debate, a CNN flash poll found that 63 percent of the debate watchers thought Harris won, compared to only 37 percent who said Trump.
This is a dramatic reversal from June when this same poll found that viewers thought that Trump overwhelmingly outperformed Biden 67-33.
Harris Victory
On Wednesday morning, Sununu declared on CNN that Kamala Harris won the debate against Trump and that Haley should have been on that stage instead.
“If Nikki Haley had been in that debate, it would have been great. It would have been lights out. I was thinking about how she would have performed, but primaries are different. They can be pretty vicious even within your own party, but at the end of the day, most folks will galvanize around the candidate,” Sununu said.
Too Late Now
On the social media platform X, some Republicans and conservatives echoed the feeling that Haley would have had a better matchup against Harris.
“It’s too late now but GOP voters had a lot of choices in the primaries — and they picked the guy who had the best chance of … losing. Nikki Haley would have been a much better choice … but Republicans are stuck with who they voted for,” wrote journalist and analyst Bernard Goldberg.
Concepts of a Plan
Some criticized Trump over a moment when he asserted that he had merely “concepts of a plan” around healthcare.
“Imagine how different this debate would have been with Nikki Haley. I have a feeling she would have had more than just ‘concepts of a plan,’” wrote anti-Trump Republican Cara Mund who previously ran for a Congressional seat in North Dakota.
Trump’s Weaknesses
Mike Cosper, the director of media for Christianity Today, listed Trump’s weaknesses that an ideal presidential candidate wouldn’t have.
“Imagine a disciplined conservative who could stay focused on his or her attacks, not indulging deranged conspiracy theories, didn’t bicker about rallies sizes etc etc etc etc,” Cosper wrote on X.
DeSantis Would Have Crushed It
Supporters of Florida governor Ron DeSantis expressed similar sentiments, feeling that their candidate wouldn’t have let conservatives down in the same way.
“I know I know, most people don’t want to hear it, but Ron DeSantis would have crushed that debate last night,” wrote X user Shoren Schwab.
Should Have Had DeSantis
Many conservatives online complained that the moderators were unfair to Trump, leading to his reduced performance. However, some felt that other candidates would have turned the unfair situation to their advantage.
“‘The moderators helped Kamala! It was 3 on 1!’ DeSantis would have been been able to win an actual 3 on 1 debate. The moderators wouldn’t have fact checked DeSantis the same way because they know he backs up everything he says. We could and should have had Ron DeSantis,” wrote one X user.
Harris Would Have Been Exposed
Fans of DeSantis felt that this debate underscored the need for the governor to be at the top of the ticket for Republicans in the next election cycle.
“Gov. DeSantis would have exposed this vacuous woman in the first 5 minutes. Let’s not be stupid in 2028, Republicans,” wrote an X user.
Haley or DeSantis
Corie Whalen, the communications media relations director for right-wing think tank R Street Institute, agreed that either Haley or DeSantis would have carried the day.
“Instead of nominating the most deranged person in public life, Republicans could have picked Haley or DeSantis, both of whom have proven they can handle media bias adeptly. But instead, the GOP once again chose a conman who can’t argue his way out of a paper bag. The consequences of that are on them,” Whalen wrote in an X post.
