Trump Goes Dark in Defense of ‘Angry’ Debate Performance: ‘There’s Nothing to Smile About’

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

Former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump defended his “angry” demeanor at Tuesday night’s debate between himself and Vice President Kamala Harris in a dark post on Truth Social Thursday, even going so far as to declare “there’s nothing to smile about.”

“I won the Debate, but was criticized by the Radical Left Lunatics because I looked ‘angry and forceful.’ But think, why wouldn’t I be angry? I love the U.S.A., and it is being destroyed by grossly incompetent leadership. Inflation, A Terrible Economy, Horrible Military Decisions, No Respect from around the World, and more than 20 Million people, many from prisons and mental institutions, are pouring into our Country, and creating Havoc, Crime, and Destruction, like never seen before,” began Trump . “Am I supposed to be smiling, like Comrade Kamala Harris, with her FAKE one-and-a-half hour smile and long practiced facial expressions, despite all of the problems that she and Crooked Joe have caused. No, there’s nothing to smile about, but there will be in the not too distant future, when America makes the biggest Comeback in History. November 5th – MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Trump’s performance has been widely panned by political commentators across the political spectrum, as well as even some supporters of his bid to retake the White House.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who was trotted out as a campaign surrogate on Tuesday night, told The Bulwark’s Tim Miller that the debate was “a disaster” and that Trump was “unprepared” for the debate.

In a column for The Wall Street Journal , Karl Rove was even more scathing .

“As is frequently the case with Mr. Trump, he let his emotions get the better of him. He took the bait almost every time she put it on the hook, offering a pained smile as she did. Rather than dismissing her attacks and launching his strongest counterarguments against her, Mr. Trump got furious,” wrote Rove. “As her attacks continued, his voice rose. He gripped the podium more often and more firmly. He grimaced and shook his head, at times responding with wild and fanciful rhetoric. Short, deft replies and counterpunches would have been effective. He didn’t deliver them.”

“Mr. Trump was crushed by a woman he previously dismissed as ‘dumb as a rock,'” he mused. “Which raises the question: What does that make him?”