A few things I noticed:
- When asked directly if he wanted Ukraine to win, Trump would not say so or otherwise agree to it. He’s still falsely claiming he would negotiate a peace immediately. The
most favourable interpretation of this for him is that would would essentially abandon Ukraine in a push for a frozen conflict.
- When asked directly, twice, if he had any regrets about his own person actions in January 6th, he went off on a rant and would not answer the question. He still characterizes those convicted of crimes for Jan 6th as being some sort of hard done by victims.
- When the hosts presented recent examples of Trump admitting he lost the 2020 election by a narrow margin, he rejected his own words, claimed he had been speaking “sarcastically”, and continued to uphold The Big Lie that he had won; he still does not accept that he lost.
- When Harris confronted Trump with a claim that world leaders are laughing at him, he went on about Viktor Orban apparently being a fan of his.
- Trump appears to take Putin’s statement that he hopes for a Harris win at face value.
- He was called out for blatant lies on several occasions by both the moderators and by Harris.
Generally speaking he struggled to keep to any sort of consistent script, and generally did not answer or attempt to answer the questions posed, even when redirected back to them by the moderators. He was flailing and easily baited by Harris.
Doubtful that many minds will change on this debate, but all in all it was a very different even from Trump v Biden, and I think a number of Trump’s weaknesses and frailties were on display, for those inclined to see what’s right in front of them.