Last night Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump met face-to-face for the first time and held their first, and possible last debate. Different news outlets agreed that Trump’s performance was disastrous, but how did Texas politicians react?
First, numerous top Republicans in the state remained silent on social media, as Harris managed to bait Trump and put him on the defensive. While Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan remained silent, Gov. Greg Abbott called Trump the winner of the debate on social media.
“Tonight, Kamala Harris proved that now more than ever, we need to elect President Donald Trump,” Abbott wrote on X. “He’ll put America First by delivering on his promises to make America safe, strong, & secure again.”
Different media acknowledged that Trump came second in last night’s debate, including Fox News.
“Let’s make no mistake. Trump had a bad night,” Fox News analyst Brit Hume said. “We just heard so many of the old grievances that we all know aren’t winners politically.”
U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw tried to save Trump’s image by posting a meme. He captioned the image: “Every time Kamala answers a policy question tonight” next to an image of Trump holding a letter saying “So why haven’t you done that over the last 4 years.”
Democrats, on the other hand, made fun of Trump’s answers. When ABC News anchor Linsay Davis asked Trump about alternatives to the Affordable Healthcare Act, he did not give a specific answer and said he had “concepts of a plan.”
“Do you have a healthcare plan 9 years later… I have CONCEPTS OF A PLAN!” U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett wrote. “BYE Don!”
During the debate, the moderators constantly fact-chekced baseless claims Trump made about haitians eating cats and Democrats wanting to commit infanticide. State Rep. Gene Wu made a post on X suggesting that this was because Trump was the only one lying.
Not Texas related, but maybe one of Kamala’s biggest wins from yesterday, after the debate, Taylor Swift announced she’ll be voting for Harris.
“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election,” she wrote on instagram. She also encouraged citizens to register to vote. You can check if you’re registered in the Texas website, if you’re not registered to vote, you can follow the next steps in Vote Texas.
