Senate Republicans are frustrated and disappointed that they have not been able to avoid taking bait with Vice President Harris over side issues such as former President Trump's debate performance and leaving rallies early.
Republicans worry that Trump's angry on-stage rant will be the main impression left by many undecided voters who watched the 90-minute debate, with some senators wondering whether Trump should even agree to another debate.
Republican senators also distanced themselves from Trump's false claim, which he repeated Tuesday night, that he won the 2020 election.
And they are perplexed by his outlandish claim that migrants are eating dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio, in response to a question about why he opposes a bipartisan Senate bill for border security.
“She was so well prepared that she didn't have to repeat herself,” said one Republican senator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to vent frustration at Ms Harris's solid performance and Mr Trump's lack of discipline.
“Everyone says, 'Be more disciplined,' but that's not the kind of person he is,” the councilman sighed.
The senator said that instead of focusing on the two main issues of the campaign – the economy and inflation – Trump had become distracted by “other things”, including his unfounded claim that Haitian immigrants eat dogs and cats.
“I have no idea what that is about,” the congressman said of the pet-eating allegations.
“He's upset and she keeps talking about the happiness equation. People want to be happy,” the source said.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, suggested the debate might sway some undecided suburban voters in the key battleground state to vote for Harris, but he believed most voters had already made up their minds in the election.
“I think there will be some, in particular. [in the] “In the female demographic, it's Leanne Harris right now,” he said.
Trump and his supporters say the former president was treated unfairly by debate moderators who asked Trump follow-up questions but largely ignored Harris.
Still, Republican senators are also frustrated that Trump has failed to press Harris with pointed questions about her policy positions and her performance as vice president.
“I think we missed a lot of opportunities last night,” Tillis said. “Just ask yourself: Do you feel better about the border than you did four years ago? Do you feel better about paying your bills than you did four years ago?”
“That's the essence of this case,” he said.
“Rather than talking about cats and dogs, [getting eaten in Ohio] “We're talking about 1.5 million fugitives,” he added, referring to migrants who have evaded Border Patrol agents in Arizona and Texas and entered the country illegally.
Tillis said Trump needs to listen to his advisers who advise him to stay focused on the issues.
“If we don't listen to the advice of experts in certain fields on messaging … if we don't listen to the advice of political experts, we're probably treading into dangerous territory,” he warned.
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) criticized the hosts.
“I'm with the group that's a little frustrated that ABC was willing to quickly fact-check President Trump but chose not to do so with Kamala Harris,” Lankford said.
But he added that Ms Harris had tried to get on Mr Trump's nerves and he took the bait.
“He's done that a lot of times,” Lankford acknowledged. “All he had to do was say, 'What does that mean four years ago versus the last four years?'”
Earlier in the debate, when Harris claimed people were leaving the rally out of boredom and fatigue, Trump rolled his eyes.
“People don't leave at my rallies. Our rallies are the biggest, most amazing rallies in the history of politics,” the former president said defensively in response to a question from ABC News host David Muir asking why he doesn't support a Senate border security bill that many Republican senators say would make the situation on the U.S.-Mexico border worse.
Lankford said he was disappointed that there was little discussion of the national deficit or the threat from China.
Lankford noted that Trump spoke about inflation and immigration during the debate, but said many Republicans believe Trump needs to be more disciplined and steer the discussion back to those issues.
Even Trump's biggest allies in the Senate acknowledged that the president made several botched attacks on Harris.
“He missed a lot of opportunities,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said. “My hope is that when she said, 'You've confused us,' he'd say, 'No, I haven't confused us. The border is [the] “It's the safest it's been in four years, mortgage rates are below 3 percent, and a historic peace deal has been signed between Arab countries and Israel.”
Graham argued that the reason so many people turn out to Trump's rallies is because they are struggling to cover the costs of living, and acknowledged that Trump failed to portray the economic hardships of millions of Americans during Tuesday's debate.
Another close Trump ally, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who is running for reelection, distanced himself from Trump's unconfirmed claims that Haitian immigrants are eating pets in Ohio.
“I have no idea what's going on there. All I can say is there's a great Haitian community in Florida. They're great people. I've spent a lot of time with them. One of my employees is Haitian,” he said. “I go to church with Haitians. … My experience with Haitians in Florida has been very good.”
Scott also distanced himself from Trump, who has increasingly maintained that the 2020 election was stolen.
“Any candidate can do whatever they want. I have made it clear that Biden is a president elected under the Constitution of the United States,” he said.
Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), another Trump ally, declined to comment when asked about Trump's renewed interest in the 2020 election.
“I'm not going to comment on that,” he said. “It's everybody's personal style and whether it works for them is their own judgment.”
“I don't think he should say things that would discourage people from voting for him,” he acknowledged when pressed about Trump's false claims that the election was rigged.
Brown stressed that he supports Trump because he supports the policies he would implement as president.
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who has said she would not vote for Trump, slammed Trump's performance.
“I don't think it was his best night,” she said.
