(NewsNation) — Longtime political experts Bill O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera are divided on the outcome of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump‘s first debate in Philadelphia.
Bill O’Reilly: ‘No one won the debate’
O’Reilly told NewsNation he doesn’t think anyone won the debate, citing Trump playing only to his base and Harris refusing to give specific answers to the moderators’ questions.
“Trump was foolish at times. He won the first half-hour of the debate, but then he descended as he always does,” O’Reilly said. “I don’t know why.”
The Republican candidate, O’Reilly said, was much stronger on international affairs — but he didn’t stay focused on that.
“Talking about migrants eating dogs and cats, I mean, that’s something ‘Saturday Night Live’ would do. Why would you even bother to do that?” O’Reilly said.
Trump and his allies have falsely accused Haitian immigrants in the small Ohio town of Springfield of abducting and eating pets. There’s no evidence that the community is doing that, officials told The Associated Press.
O’Reilly said Harris dodged questions, not directly answering about the economy or how to get a truce in Gaza.
“(Harris is) a generalist. She believes she can do what Joe Biden did last time around and win. She doesn’t have any solutions that I can figure out about anything,” O’Reilly said.
Geraldo Rivera: Harris ‘withstood Hurricane Trump’
Rivera, however, thinks Harris was the clear winner because Trump was resorting to “middle school” tactics.
“He was childish, he was creepy, he was cringey, that thing about eating dogs — he was obsessed with it. He wouldn’t let it go,” Rivera said. “I thought she withstood Hurricane Trump. She came across as competent, even confident, after that first half-hour.”
Rivera said Trump was “terrible” and crumbled after a strong first half-hour.
“He was terrible tonight. And you can apologize for him all you want, but he did not seem presidential. He wouldn’t have even made the debate team at a junior high,” Rivera said.
Rivera believes Trump was unprepared to face Harris.
“He lost his best chance to squash her candidacy and make her a mockery. He lost his best chance to be the favorite going forward,” Rivera added.
He argued their matchup elevated Harris and will restart her momentum, telling NewsNation she looked “presidential, dare I say it.”