Exclusive: The Trump campaign is doubling down on former President Trump's performance in this week's debate, calling it a clear victory over VP Harris, despite recent reports that she was gaining momentum in the battleground states of Georgia and North Carolina.
“Their little reactions to the debate and the performance were just a sugar high, and it was unnatural, and it was based solely on the fact that she came out and managed to say her lines that she memorized and gave a great performance. She can go out and memorize things and go out and perform, and we expected that she would,” Tim Murtaugh, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said in an interview on Fox News Digital on Thursday.
“They placed a lot of emphasis on that debate and millions of people tuned in to hear why she was running for president because they had heard she had been in hiding for most of the time and they expected her to explain the basis of her career, her goals and plans as president. But they heard nothing and left having learned nothing,” he said.
The campaign's assessment came after Trump himself said Thursday that there would be no more debates.
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Viewers of the debate had initially predicted Harris would win after Tuesday's showdown, but with six swing states still to play out with 78 electoral votes, the outcome of the election is still considered a no-brainer for either candidate.
As of Thursday, Trump had lost his leads in Georgia and North Carolina. Fox News Power RankingsThis puts Harris in the lead in the overall forecast for the first time.
In the past 12 months Fox News PollBetween 48% and 50% of registered voters say they support Trump. Biden's support dropped to 45% earlier this year, but the latest Fox News poll showed Harris trailing Trump by just one point at 49%. Nationwide Survey.
Criminal indictments, criminal convictions, primaries, a last-minute switch in candidates and an assassination attempt have not moved the former president's approval rating outside a three-point range.
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But Murtaugh believes Trump delivered a “strong performance” and that Harris refused to “shirk her liberal record and her responsibilities in the Biden-Harris administration.”
Murtaugh pointed to Harris' checkered record as she seeks to distance herself from her progressive record.
“And we all know what that is: fracking, the wall, making illegal immigration legal or making it illegal to cross the border illegally. She reversed the policy of making employer health insurance illegal,” Murtaugh said. “She reversed gun confiscation. She reversed various tax cuts. You know, she actually reversed plastic straws.”
“She also needed to make an effort to distance herself from the Biden-Harris administration,” Murtaugh said, “but she absolutely did not do that. Critics may think, 'Oh, wow, she gave a great performance because she went out and said the lines,' but the reality is, the truth is, you can't buy food at the grocery store with style points.”
FOX News Power Rankings Issue Tracker: Trump Leads on Two Key Issues, But Harris Gains Power
Former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris (Screenshot: Fox News simulcast of the ABC News presidential debate)
Polls show Trump has a clear lead on key issues like the economy: A CNN poll conducted after the debate found that 55% of voters approve of his economic policies over Harris, trailing her at 35%.
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While experts and debate viewers had predicted a Harris victory, moderate voters may not have been convinced, according to interviews with undecided voters by Reuters and The New York Times.
“She needed to connect with these people and convince them she was not hiding and was a serious candidate, and she failed. You never get a second chance to make a first impression with these people,” Murtaugh said.
Fox News Digital's Remy Numa contributed to this report.
