Presidential candidates campaign day after the first debate

DULUTH, Minn. (NewsNation Now) — Tuesday night’s raucous debate was still reverberating Wednesday as the candidates headed out on the campaign trail, each offering different interpretations of the face off.

“I thought the debate last night was great. We’ve gotten tremendous reviews on it,” President Trump said.

A lot of commentary found considerable fault with the contentious tone set in Cleveland—by both candidates. The president’s morning-after statements came as he left for a campaign stop in Minnesota.

“By every measure, we won the debate easily last night. I think he was weak. He looked weak. He was whining. Uh yeah, we won the debate by almost every poll that I saw,” Trump said, not disclosing his polling source.

The president also sought to recast his comments about white supremacists, including the far-right group Proud Boys, known for its street violence. At the debate, he declined to denounce such groups, saying instead “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”

After that comment drew bipartisan criticism, the president altered course Wednesday.

“I don’t know who the Proud Boys are. I mean, you’ll have to give me a definition, because I don’t know who they are. I can only say they have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work,” Trump said. “I’ve always denounced any form, any form, any form of any of that. You have to denounce it.”

Biden at times appeared irritated by the president’s tactics during the first debate, responding, “Would you shut up, man?” Biden also called the chief executive a liar, a racist and a clown. Yet Wednesday, the Democrat said he is looking forward to their next meeting Oct. 15.

“For 90 minutes, he tried everything to distract, everything possible and it just didn’t work. But I hope that this next debate is going to be in front of real live people, it is going to be a town hall. I just hope we’re able to…I’m looking forward to it. I hope we’re able to get a chance to actually answer the questions that are asked by the persons in the room, but God only knows what he’ll do,” Biden said.