Trump War Room Blog for CNN Presidential Debate
In this blog, we are capturing statements and reactions from the Trump campaign, the RNC, and tweets from surrogates throughout and after the CNN President Debate. Enjoy!
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Doug Burgum
"You look around the room tonight, you look at all of the, just the potential VP's that are in this room. The bench on the Republican side is so deep and so strong and so broad. President Trump right now, has got the ability to probably win this election just by himself without even without a V.P. And the real V.P. question, I think, is because it's going to be coming up after tonight is the choice that Joe Biden has four years ago about his VP. That's going to play into this election," North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum told reporters after the debate
"This is important because Donald Trump showed that he actually has the talent and the energy to be President of the United States. What does that guy, meaning Joe Biden, looks like in three years?" Sen. JD Vance told reporters.
"I don't want to find out the answer to that question. What I saw in Donald Trump was a guy who can be president. He's already done it successfully. And I think that contrast was really, really bad for Joe Biden."
Reed is chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.
“Tonight's debate resembled a prize fight that should have been stopped in the early rounds. ... The Biden campaign picked the time and city, set the rules, and selected the network and moderators. Still, Trump was the clear winner tonight.” — Faith & Freedom Coalition founder and Chairman Ralph Reed
Lara Trump
"I think we could not have asked for greater success for him. It's very clear to anybody watching the difference between these two candidates. One is ready to lead, one is a leader, and the other one looked very weak. I think everybody saw Donald Trump as the clear winner of this debate," Lara Trump told reporters after the debate.
"I think it was an unfortunate performance and truly I felt a little bit sad for Joe Biden. And that is a really shocking thing to say. It doesn't feel like this is a person who is capable of leading our country and as American citizen, that makes me very concerned."
Trump debated President Biden on Thursday night.
"Tonight President Trump delivered the greatest debate performance and victory in history to the largest voter audience in history, making clear exactly how he will improve the lives of every American. ... Joe Biden on the other hand showed exactly why he deserves to be fired. Despite taking a week-long vacation at Camp David to prepare for the debate, Biden was unable to defend his disastrous record on the economy and the border. ... President Trump is spot-on when he says that if Joe Biden is too incompetent to stand trial, then Biden is too incompetent to be President." – Senior Trump campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles
Former President Obama and is defense secretary.
"As Obama’s former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, Biden 'has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.'" — MAGA Inc. press release
Donald Trump Jr. praised the format of the CNN Presidential Debate, saying that it was keeping his father "disciplined and focused."
"I actually like this format for my father," Trump Jr. wrote in an X post. "Keeping him disciplined and focused."
The former president's oldest son said that Trump was "dismantling Biden’s disastrous and failed policies one by one piece by piece."
Prior to the debate, Biden and Trump mutually agreed to CNN's format and rules.
Their rules included no studio audience, each candidate's microphone would be muted except when it's their turn to answer questions, no props or notes allowed on stage, and no opening statements.
Trump ally Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., posted on X during the debate, "Joe Biden may not remember, but under President Trump we had almost no inflation. Joe Biden is indeed the inflation president."
He posted a few minutes later, "After only 13 minutes, this debate has made clear: a vote for Biden is a vote to make Kamala Harris president."
"You know, Biden, by the way, wanted to sit for this debate. That was my father's only condition - we're not sitting. We're not sitting. We're going to stand. We're going to see if you can make it through the 90 minute standing, Joe," former President Trump's youngest son, Eric, told Fox News host Jesse Watters.
"They probably gave the guy the questions already, right? I'm not much of a cynic of this whole process already, but you know what? If you want it to be CNN and if you want it to be with a Trump hater, you know, go ahead. I'll step on that stage any time, any place, anywhere. And now, you know, he showed up. He showed up under all of their conditions. And he's incredibly brave for doing so. I can tell you not many people would have done that."
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum visits FOX Business Network's "The Big Money Show" at Fox Business Network Studios on June 13, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ferdman/Getty Images)
Gov. Doug Burgum, R-N.D., currently serving as governor of North Dakota, is one of the top contenders for vice president on the 2024 Republican ticket.
Burgum, a former software company CEO and awardee of the state's highly acclaimed Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, was first sworn in as governor of the Flickertail State in 2016. The Republican launched a 2024 presidential campaign in June 2023, dropping out that December after participating in the first two presidential primary debates, but not qualifying for the third. Since foregoing his presidential aspirations this cycle, the two-term governor has been named as one of the candidates on former President Donald Trump's shortlist for vice president.
Burgum has since hit the campaign trail on behalf of Trump, recently saying that he was "the first presidential candidate who dropped out to endorse him." When asked by reporters about whether he has spoken to Trump about the position, Burgum said, "This will be my only second ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer of probably the last year, but no. … Haven't heard any updates."
Lewandowski is an adviser for the RNC going into the general election.
"I'm confident [Trump] can stand for 90 minutes. There's no question about that. There's some speculation if Joe Biden will be able to do that—Stand for the full 90 minutes. I know he's been practicing that, which it seems like an odd thing to practice when you're running for president of the United States. So, I have 100% confidence Donald Trump will be able to do that. And I believe that Donald Trump's message tonight is going to be one where he's going to remind the American people of how good things were under the Trump administration from an economic perspective, from a border security perspective. And contrast that where Joe Biden is, and then remind the American people of where we can go in the next four years if he's the next president of the United States." — Corey Lewandowski, Trump/RNC adviser
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) speaks before the arrival of former President Trump at an event in Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is on former President Donald Trump's shortlist for vice president.
But the Constitution could prevent the pair from running on a ticket together. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, served as speaker of the Florida House of Representatives before being elected as Florida's senator in 2010.
The Republican senator launched his own presidential bid in 2016, running almost a years-long campaign before dropping out of the race following the Florida primary where he lost to then-presidential candidate Trump. Trump, who used to call the Senator "Little Marco," named Rubio as one of the candidates being vetted for vice president. Most recently, Rubio was one of only three candidates in the pool that Trump's campaign initially requested documents amid the search.
While Rubio is reportedly being considered as Trump's running mate, this pick would face a roadblock under the 12th Amendment of the Constitution, which states that the electors "shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves."
Donalds is being speculated as a potential running mate for Trump.
"I think you have a lot of my colleagues who have also said that we expect [Biden] to come out like he's come out at the State of the Union , so he'll be good for about 90 minutes or so. But I think the bigger issue is, I mean, why did it take eight days to do this? I've not remembered any modern president who took eight days away to just prepare for debates, that's concerning to me as an American. Because the world, the issues don't stop when you're in that job. And so to be in Camp David hunkered down for eight days is a little concerning to me. I think the bigger thing—this is really for all of you guys here. When's the last time Joe Biden actually had a press conference where he just took questions ad-lib from reporters, not knowing the script, not knowing the names, not knowing who was going to ask what, would he even do this kind of a gaggle with you guys right now? He would not. I think when it comes to Donald Trump, he's focused on the American people. He has an agenda for our country that's going to make our country great." — Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.
Ben Carson
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson said on X, formerly Twitter, just before the debate: "Donald Trump is a fighter. He fights for We the People, not government bureaucrats. He fights for freedom/liberty, not power/tyranny. He fights for us. Our children, grandchildren, and their future. I’m praying for my friend tonight. We are all behind you in this fight!"
Rep. Elise Stefanik
House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said on Fox Business show "The Bottom Line," "I think what the American people are going to see tonight is a stark contrast of the weak, failed, feckless leadership of Joe Biden that has created catastrophic crises -- whether it's the border crisis, the inflation crisis, the war on American energy or the weakness and chaos around the world with weak international security."
"Compare that with the success of President Donald Trump's presidency -- record economic growth, you saw peace through strength with a strong commander in chief, you saw a booming economy, and energy independence. So this will be a stark contrast tonight and House Republicans are proud to be unified in support of President Trump," Stefanik said.
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, former White House Physician under former Presidents Trump and Obama, said on X a few hours before the debate: "I have NO DOUBT Jacked Up Joe will be heavily medicated for tonight’s debate. TAKE A DRUG TEST JOE!!!"
Crockett is a member of the House of Representatives.
"The Biden campaign picked the perfect surrogates for Joe Biden at the debate tonight. One of them is Rep. Jasmine Crockett. Rep. Crockett voted against legislation that bashes violence against law enforcement and condemns calls to defund the police. She also voted against legislation to deport illegal immigrants that commit DUIs. Another surrogate representing Joe Biden is former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. In June 2020, Lance Bottoms proudly declared that Atlanta 'has been ‘defunding the police’ for the last few years.' These are great surrogates to represent Joe Biden's pro-crime, pro-open borders agenda." — MAGA Inc. press release
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