Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday that when he left the stage last week he thought he had the “best debate” and did not challenge moderators because he “wanted to be classy.”
Trump recapped his Tuesday showdown with Vice President Kamala Harris on Fox News’ Gutfeld late night show.
While most polls showed viewers believed Harris had decisively won last week’s debate in Philadelphia, Trump admitted he came away with a different impression.
“I walked off the stage and thought I had the best debate. The host treated me very unfairly. I’m not a fan of those guys anymore. And his hair was better five years ago,” Trump said of ABC News’ David Muir. “That happens. That happens with the clock.”
Trump said he believed he had been considered the greatest debater of all time up to that point and complained that Muir and her co-moderator Linsey Davis fact-checked them “nine or 11 times” and never corrected Harris.
Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday that when he left the stage last week he thought he had the “best debate” and did not challenge moderators because he “wanted to be classy.”
“And the crowd was absolutely… going crazy,” Trump continued.
There was no audience during the debate.
“I walked away and said, ‘That was a great debate. I loved it,'” the Republican candidate said. “But this was a very special moment. I think it was a tremendous debate.”
But then came the criticism, including talk of the viral moment when Trump falsely claimed Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were “eating pets.”
“It was all just a bunch of words,” he complained. “But the fake news was like, ‘Oh, he did well.'”
Trump said he could have been Winston Churchill and the media would say, “Well, it was okay, but it wasn’t special tonight.”
“I guess my only regret is that I wanted to be classy and I didn’t want to go after the anchors,” Trump said. “I wish I would have done it anyway.”
Former President Donald Trump sat down for a taping of Fox News Channel’s Greg Gutfeld Nightly Show, which aired Wednesday night.
The former president (left) said he thought he had the “best debate” as he walked off the stage where he faced Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris (right)
Panelists on the Fox late-night show asked Trump a variety of questions, including whether aliens were real and whether he wore jeans.
He couldn’t answer with certainty about aliens.
“I don’t think I’m a believer, but I’ve interviewed pilots who look like Tom Cruise, but are better than Tom Cruise, the blond one with the short hair,” Trump recalled. “They’re not people who make up stories. They said, ‘All I know, sir, is that there was a round object that was going four times faster than my F-22.'”
“They’ve seen things they can’t explain,” Trump added.
He answered affirmatively about the blue jeans.
“I have a very old pair and I doubt they will fit,” the former president said.
Gutfeld also asked the billionaire former president if he wore pajamas.
“No,” Trump replied.
In a clip from the interview that was released before the episode aired, Gutfeld also asked Trump about his golf game, three days after a near-assassination attempt occurred at his West Palm Beach golf course.
“Well, I haven’t thought about it much lately,” Trump said with a laugh. “I’ve always said that golf is a very dangerous game.”
The Fox host joked: “It really is, especially if they’re messing with you.”
When the audience groaned, Gutfeld interjected: “What? Was that a practical joke?”
“If you had been told the shooter was there, would you have tried to kill him with your number three stick?” Gutfeld asked Trump.
“I think so,” the former president replied.
