Last night, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump faced off for the first time in what may well be their last debate. News outlets agreed that Trump’s performance was dismal, but how did Texas politicians react?
First, many of the state’s top Republicans remained silent on social media as Harris lured Trump into a defensive position: Governor Greg Abbott called Trump the winner of the debate on social media, while Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Speaker of the House Dade Phelan remained silent.
“Tonight, Kamala Harris proved that now more than ever we need to elect President Donald Trump,” Abbott wrote on X. “He will deliver on his promise to make America safe, strong and secure again, and he will put America first.”
Various media outlets, including Fox News, acknowledged that Trump came in second in last night’s debate.
“Don’t get me wrong, it was a bad night for Trump,” Fox News analyst Brit Hume said. “We just heard a lot of the same old grievances that we all know don’t produce wins politically.”
Rep. Dan Crenshaw tried to defend Trump’s image by posting a meme of Trump holding a letter that read, “So why didn’t you do that for the last 4 years?”, with the caption, “Every time Kamala answers a policy question tonight.”
Democrats, meanwhile, mocked Trump’s response: When ABC News host Lindsey Davis asked him about a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, he gave no specific answer, saying “I have an idea for a plan.”
“After 9 years still no health insurance plan… I have a concept for a plan!,” wrote U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett. “Bye, Don!”
Throughout the debate, the moderators were constantly fact-checking Trump’s unfounded claims, like that Haitians eat cats and that Democrats want to kill young children. State Assemblyman Jean Wu posted on X that this was because Trump was the only one lying.
While not Texas related, one of Kamala’s biggest wins yesterday was when, after the debate, Taylor Swift announced that she would be voting for Harris.
“I will be voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for President in 2024,” she wrote on Instagram. She also urged people to register to vote. You can check if you’re registered on the Texas state website. If you’re not, you can follow these steps at Vote Texas.
