CNN political commentator Scott Jennings couldn’t hide his disbelief during a recent segment on “CNN News Central,” when former Harris official Jamal Simmons claimed that former President Donald Trump lost the first presidential debate of the 2024 election. In response to Simmons’ claim that Trump is “zero for one” in debates, Jennings facepalmed and laughed, clearly disagreeing with the assessment.
Jennings pointed out the fact that Trump “won” the debate against Joe Biden, as evidenced by the fact that Biden ended up dropping out of the race shortly after. This led to the eventual nomination of Kamala Harris, whom Simmons described as a “much better candidate” than Biden. However, Jennings was quick to question whether that meant Trump actually did poorly in the debate or if he strategically won by getting Biden out of the race.
Simmons argued that while Trump may have tactically won the debate, strategically it may have cost him the entire election. He believes that the Democrats ended up with a stronger candidate in Harris and that Trump is now behind in the polls. However, Jennings was not convinced, stating that Trump will not be a “whimpering pile of tears” in the upcoming debate with Harris.
In fact, Simmons himself has cautioned against overestimating Harris’ performance in the upcoming debate. He noted that Harris has not been in a debate since facing off against Vice President Mike Pence four years ago, while Trump has participated in multiple debates since then. While Simmons believes Harris will do well, he doesn’t want Democrats to oversell her abilities and give Trump too much credit.
In a separate interview, Simmons warned that Democrats shouldn’t expect Harris to have a flawless performance against Trump. She will need some time to adjust to the debate format, and he believes Trump will put up a strong fight. He cautioned against underestimating Trump’s debating skills, saying that he won’t be a pushover.
Clearly, even those on the left are starting to realize that Trump is a formidable opponent in debates. Despite their attempts to downplay his debating abilities, it’s clear that they are worried about how Harris will fare against him in their upcoming debate. And with Trump’s experience in multiple debates and his well-known skills as a debater, it’s likely that he will have the upper hand in their showdown.
Even those on the left cannot deny Trump’s debating prowess and recognize that he strategically won the first 2024 debate against Biden. While Democrats may have replaced Biden with a “better” candidate in Harris, they cannot deny that Trump’s debate performance played a significant role in the outcome of the election. And with the upcoming debate with Harris, it’s clear that Trump will continue to shine as a formidable opponent.