John Podhoretz, a speechwriter for former President Ronald Reagan, said during Tuesday night's ABC News debate that former President Trump created his own problems.
“He cleaned his watch, and when he didn't clean his, she cleaned his watch, and when she didn't clean hers, Muir and David cleaned his watch,” says Podhoretz, who now works as an editor at Commentary magazine. said XTuesday night.
“In the end, his watch was cleaned,” he added. “He just stained her watch face a little.”
Podhoretz's evaluation of the debate came at the same time that a CNN flash poll conducted by SRSS showed that 63% of registered voters who watched the debate said Harris beat Trump, while the rest said Trump won.
The Philadelphia debate was the first time the candidates met in person, and Ms Harris put in a sharp performance as she took on the former president on the economy, immigration, foreign policy, abortion and other policy issues. Her strategy to unsettle her Republican rival seemed to work, with Mr Trump appearing visibly annoyed at times.
Podhoretz, who also served as a speechwriter for former President George H. W. Bush, praised ABC reporters David Muir and Lindsey Davis, but conservatives criticized Muir and Davis for their handling of Tuesday's debate, in which they fact-checked the former president's false and misleading claims, something they did not do during CNN's June debate with President Biden.
