Trump’s friends complimented him after the debate

CNN Presenter Kaitlan Collins Sources said that its former president Donald Trump His advisers “congratulated him to his face” immediately after the debate — but offered a different story in anonymous comments, expressing shock at Trump’s failures.

Trump and the Vice President Kamala Harris The two men met for the first time Tuesday night for the ABC News debate, which was almost universally judged to be a landslide victory for Harris and a “disaster” for Trump.

Wednesday evening edition from CNN The Source with Kaitlan CollinsCollins opened his show with a recap of the debate and new reporting from his inside Trumpworld sources – which rival even Maggie Haberman.

Collins said his sources told him Trump’s face was glowing, but that his advisers were privately “stunned” that Trump failed to capitalize on the talking points he and his team had prepared:

COLLINS: My main source tonight may be the main reason Trump got knocked out. We’ll get to him in a second.

But I want to start by sharing some news with you this evening, about what happened in Philadelphia last night.

I’m told that as soon as Donald Trump left the debate stage, he immediately began questioning those waiting in his viewing room about how the last 90 minutes had gone.

While many people congratulated him to his face, telling him he did a great job, that’s not what many of them are saying privately today. Instead, those around Trump have described what happened as a draw at best and a defeat at worst.

Several of them told CNN they were stunned that the former president had not done a better job of implementing the talking points he and his team had been preparing for weeks against Vice President Harris, her record, her policy reversals.

Trump actually prepared more for his debate before his first meeting with Harris than he did for his debate with President Biden earlier this summer.

Yet they do not believe he has made some of the key arguments against her, including why she has not kept the promises she is making now, during her three and a half years in office.

He didn’t go there until his closing argument, which surprised many in his inner circle. Instead, they believe Trump took the bait every time Harris suggested it.

While many of Trump’s allies described what happened last night as a missed opportunity for the former president, they have since begun to downplay the debate’s overall significance, arguing that it won’t change his numbers with voters in states like Pennsylvania.

Trump himself has yet to take a position on the possibility of a second debate. But nearly every allie I spoke to said they thought he would ultimately agree to hold one.

Watch above via CNN The Source with Kaitlan Collins.

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