WASHINGTON – Donald Trump appeared to win two debates Sunday night, one against Hillary Clinton and another against the national media.
“The media has a lot of work to do after that debate!” Ann Coulter told WND immediately after the second presidential debate.
Trump agreed, noting on Facebook: “It was a 3 vs. 1 debate, but I still prevailed. Now the media, the establishment, and the career politicians are going to come after us with everything they’ve got.”
Former Republican congresswoman Michele Bachmann observed that it wasn’t just what the media did to try to help the Democrat, it’s also what they didn’t do.
Referring to the latest Wikileaks bombshells, she told WND: “Hillary Clinton had devastating politically damaging revelations this past week, and no one knows about them. And yet, if no one hears about them and has the import of them explained, did they ever really happen? It’s an amazing time of delusion we live in.”
Among other revelations, Wikileaks released a transcript of a speech in which Clinton told Wall Street moguls that she held both public and private positions on some issues.
As for the debate, Bachmann added: “I thought he did well for himself. It’s shocking how GOP officials run for the hills in abandonment of their nominee at the first sign of predictable premeditated bombshells originating from the pro-Clintonites.”
The observers above weren’t the only ones who believed the establishment tried to help Clinton and that it came out on the losing side.
National Review columnist and former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy thought the moderators’ tactic backfired, tweeting: “Moderators continue to interrupt and rebut Trump, underscoring it’s 3-on-1. And it’s making him look stronger – they’re not doing her favor.”
The New York Post described how moderators “Anderson Cooper, son of Gloria Vanderbilt, and Martha Raddatz, who had President Obama as a guest at her wedding … went after the candidates, mostly but not exclusively aiming their questions at Trump, repeatedly interrupting him and telling him his time was up.”
The paper noted how, at one point, Raddatz even acted “as though she were an Obama administration spokesman instead of merely friends.”
“ABC’s Martha Raddatz quickly became the Candy Crowley of this election cycle, rounding out the list of worst debate moderators. One quick look at Merriam-Webster’s definition of ‘moderator’ and you’ll notice that an ‘arbitrator or mediator’ was definitely not the role Raddatz assumed,” said Beverly Hallberg in Lifezette.
Also in Lifezette, Eddie Zipperer remarked: “I’ve been to a real town hall meeting before. You know what it didn’t have? Two obnoxious people from some other town pushing their own town’s agenda. But that’s what this one had with Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz.
“The moderators were hardly trying to hide their disdain for him,” he added. “The crowd was admonished whenever they cheered for Trump but not when they cheered for Hillary. Legitimate Hillary scandals were mostly brought up by Donald Trump or not at all.”
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Lifezette founder, radio host and political analyst Laura Ingraham made the point that Trump fought and beat even more opponents than just the media and Clinton.
She remarked on Fox News: “He came in with the entire GOP establishment against him. He came in with the media against him. He came in with Hollywood against him. And the entire Bush apparatus… And Romney… And he said, we’re going down the tubes, you’re an architect of this, and we need a new path forward. He said this and he hit her in a way that not a single Republican in the last 30 years has been able to lay a glove on the Clintons. And he did it. We’ve been waiting for this moment for someone face-to-face to take down the Clintons.”
Analyst Monica Crowley added: “Tonight, what you saw was a dramatic reversal of fortunes for both candidates. There’s a phrase: Don’t give up five minutes before the miracle. What you saw tonight from Donald Trump – he performed a miracle.”
A tweet from pollster Frank Luntz indicated a resounding Trump victory, as 16 previously undecided members of his focus group declared Trump the winner, with only six favoring Clinton.
Even a notable liberal conceded defeat, as Peter Beinart, a contributing editor for The Atlantic, tweeted, “hate to say it but I think @realDonaldTrump staunched his campaign’s collapse tonight. Until the next big scoop.”
The Telegraph also scorched the moderators for bias: “Raddatz, of ABC, repeatedly told Mr Trump he was not answering the question – which infuriated the Republican candidate.
“You don’t stop her,” accused Trump during the debate. “You allow her to carry on.”
Tweeted Trump supporter and adviser Newt Gingrich: “Hard to tell which moderator has a more negative tone and attitude towards Trump.”
“If Martha Raddatz wants to debate Trump, she needs to run for office. She’s a moderator, not a participant,” tweeted former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Clinton’s foreign policy spokesman didn’t like the way the debate went, at all.
Jesse Lehrich lost his cool and tweeted: “hey, @realDonaldTrump – regarding your claim that Captain Khan would be alive if you were president: go f**k yourself.” Only, he didn’t use asterisks.
He was commenting on a Trump remark that he would not have invaded Iraq, sparing the life of Army Capt. Humayun Khan.
Trump supporter and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani said Trump hit a “home run” that would cause an instant momentum switch, because, “It was one of the biggest victories in a presidential debate, ever.”
Trump’s senior policy adviser, Stephen Miller, more than agreed, stating, “It was the greatest debate victory in the history of the United States.”
Whether it was that huge a win or not, the consensus seemed to be that Trump was the clear victor.
The New York Post’s John Podhoretz appeared to express the prevailing view that Trump won not just on style but overwhelmingly on substance as well, writing, ” After a horrendous two weeks capped by the ultimate presidential candidate’s weekend from Hell, Donald Trump turned around and trounced Hillary Clinton in the second presidential debate.
“Trump suddenly and surprisingly found the focus that had eluded him two weeks ago.
“He came right at her — and on policy, yet. He hit her effectively on her email scandal, on the Democratic Party’s commitment to ObamaCare, on her ineffectuality as a senator when it came to changing the tax policies she claims he abuses as a wealthy person, and on the administration’s energy policies.”
He added, “Hillary Clinton lost the debate because she likely figures she’s already won the election.”
John Hinderaker wrote in the Powerline blog: “In short, Trump won. In my opinion, he won big. We will see whether it matters.”
He added: “Some of the rats might want to consider returning to the ship. Donald Trump came through pretty well tonight, mainly because the focus was on the issues. As long as issues are being discussed, Trump wins.”
The Los Angeles Times tacitly conceded defeat for the Democrat with the headline: “Emails remain a political migraine for Hillary Clinton — and Trump pounces on them in debate.”
The morning crew on MSNBC also scored it a victory for Trump.
“I think there are a couple of things people in the press may not want to admit, but it was Donald Trump’s most effective debate performance to date,” said Joe Scarborough.
He also observed how Hillary Clinton “had a unprecedented cheering section in the media,” and “she was on the defensive for most of the night.”
“My God, it was epic. It was vintage Trump,” marveled Mika Brzezinski.
