On Tuesday, CNN’s senior political commentator Scott Jennings was seen placing his face in his hands in response to remarks made by Jamal Simmons, the former communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris. Simmons claimed that former President Donald Trump had lost his first presidential debate of 2024. Trump faced President Joe Biden on June 27, and Biden’s lackluster performance prompted significant public pressure for him to withdraw from the reelection race, which he ultimately did on July 21. During his appearance on “CNN News Central,” Simmons argued that Trump’s defeat in the debate was due to the Democrats substituting Biden with Harris, whom he characterized as a more formidable candidate.
“Look, Trump right now is zero for one when it comes to debates, right? Like he may think that he won that debate, but it might be that he actually lost the war because of that debate,” Simmons said. “Because after that debate, Joe Biden left. And when Joe Biden left, he ended up with Kamala Harris, so he should be careful.”
Jennings expressed disbelief and amusement as he facepalmed upon hearing Simmons assert that Trump had lost the debate.
“Zero for one? Jamal, Jamal, my brother and colleague … He literally ran a man who’d been in politics for 52 years out of his chosen profession over a debate,” Jennings said. “I mean, look, I understand what you’re arguing, that you all traded in for a better candidate, but Trump won the debate. He is not zero for one. Are you saying he actually did so well that he did badly?”
“This is exactly the problem with campaigns. Very often people are focused on the minutiae of what it means in this tack or that tack,” Simmons answered. “But the question is, are you winning the fundamental argument? And for right now, Donald Trump may have tactically won the debate, but strategically, it may have cost him the entire election, because he ended up with a much better candidate than the one he was aiming for. And he’s probably now a couple of points behind.”
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