Social media’s response to Monday’s Trump-Hillary debate went pretty much as expected. Donald Trump was a mess, and Hillary Clinton was steady; it was perfect fodder for the Twittersphere.
But the mockery of Trump’s performance didn’t just come from gloating liberals. Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the fact that there’s a healthy anti-Trump movement from figures on the right.
The backlash from conservatives was notable, with some calling Trump’s debating strategy an “unmitigated disaster,” and others saying that it wasn’t befitting of a potential president.
Below is a sampling (tweets compiled by Media Matters):
GOP political strategist, John Weaver:
https://twitter.com/JWGOP/status/780595576534511616
GOP political strategist, Stuart Stevens:
Trump brought 20 minutes of material to a 90 minute show.
— stuart stevens (@stuartpstevens) September 27, 2016
The National Review’s David French:
After the first fifteen-twenty minutes, it was like the SS Trump hit the iceberg, then backed up and hit it again just because.
— David French (@DavidAFrench) September 27, 2016
The Federalist’s Tom Nichols:
Trump decided he wanted to fight with Holt. That's a rookie candidate mistake, and that's on him, not Holt. https://t.co/9bn4MrPKwY
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) September 27, 2016
The Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol:
"I'm not positive Hillary actually won the debate. But I'm sure Trump lost it. He choked." https://t.co/eMrQiZIW05
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) September 27, 2016
The National Review’s Jim Geraghty:
This was a terrible night for Donald Trump, so he’ll probably surge in the polls. (That’s not a typo.)https://t.co/d4c2la5NBk
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) September 27, 2016
Conservative radio host Charlie Sykes:
Watching Trump surrogates spin. They know that he did poorly. Christie comparing Trump to Obama in 2012. Sad.
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) September 27, 2016
The Wall Street Journal’s Bret Stephens:
https://twitter.com/StephensWSJ/status/780597828506779648
The New York Post’s John Podhoretz:
Kellyanne effectively concedes loss right here. https://t.co/I4BXQ5WYiy
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) September 27, 2016
The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro (formerly of Breitbart):
Trump won first 30 minutes. Then Hillary hurt his feelings about his business record and he whined like a small child and rambled for 60.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 27, 2016
The Media Research Center’s Dan Joseph:
Trump is STILL in the spin room making a bad night even worse.
— Dan Joseph WBAL (@DanJosephWBAL) September 27, 2016
The Weekly Standard’s Stephen Hayes:
Trump's willingness to deny basic reality – things that any sentient being can observe – is truly astounding. https://t.co/w2hY96K5rx
— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) September 27, 2016
RedState’s Erick Erickson:
https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/780787506442895360
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