Harris Missed Her Marks, Too

National media is focused on Donald Trump’s performance in Tuesday night’s debate, and for good reason. He made a spectacle of himself.

Trump responded indignantly to every goad. He defended the captivating showmanship of his rallies and his honor from the criminal and civil charges juries found meritorious. He failed to levy a cogent, detailed, and measured accusation against Harris for concealing her far-Left instincts from voters. Instead, he barked, “She’s a Marxist. Everyone knows she’s a Marxist,” and let the epithet do the work. He performed an ill-considered audit of Harris’s racial identity. Is she black? Is she Asian? “Whatever she wants to be is okay with me,” he graciously allowed. Trump produced the night’s defining soundbite when he outsourced his critical thinking faculties to the internet, alleging that ill-mannered migrant hordes are absconding with household pets and eating them. That allegation compelled weary Republicans across the country to roll over in their beds and summarize for their less plugged-in spouses a naughty social-media meme that was maybe 36 hours old.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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National media is focused on Donald Trump’s performance in Tuesday night’s debate, and for good reason. He made a spectacle of himself.

Trump responded indignantly to every goad. He defended the captivating showmanship of his rallies and his honor from the criminal and civil charges juries found meritorious. He failed to levy a cogent, detailed, and measured accusation against Harris for concealing her far-Left instincts from voters. Instead, he barked, “She’s a Marxist. Everyone knows she’s a Marxist,” and let the epithet do the work. He performed an ill-considered audit of Harris’s racial identity. Is she black? Is she Asian? “Whatever she wants to be is okay with me,” he graciously allowed. Trump produced the night’s defining soundbite when he outsourced his critical thinking faculties to the internet, alleging that ill-mannered migrant hordes are absconding with household pets and eating them. That allegation compelled weary Republicans across the country to roll over in their beds and summarize for their less plugged-in spouses a naughty social-media meme that was maybe 36 hours old.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.