Mr. Trump said he would spin the reporters himself.
Though his campaign had dispatched advisers and spokeswomen, close congressional allies and even his running mate to the debate “spin room,” where journalists mix with such surrogates, former President Donald J. Trump bucked tradition.
He walked into the room full of reporters less than an hour after the end of his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday night and insisted that he’d delivered a winning performance.
“It was the best debate I’ve ever had,” said Mr. Trump, whose matchup against President Biden in June ultimately led Mr. Biden to drop out of the race.
His entrance sucked the air out of a room that had been buzzing with both his surrogates and those from the Harris campaign.
Mr. Trump had for weeks been goading Ms. Harris to agree to multiple debates.
After the debate, her campaign said in a post on X that she was ready for a second one and asked, “Is Donald Trump?” But Mr. Trump, when asked about her campaign’s sudden eagerness for a rematch, sounded more hesitant.
“She wants a second debate because she lost tonight very badly,” he insisted.
Later, after he’d marched around the perimeter of the room to do an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Mr. Trump cast more doubt on his commitment to another debate.
“I have to think about it,” Mr. Trump said, adding that he thought Ms. Harris lost their debate.
Mr. Trump claimed he would personally mislead the reporters.
In the “spin room” of the debate, where reporters mingle with surrogates, former President Donald J. Trump had sent spokespeople, advisers, close congressional allies, and even his running mate. Trump disregarded custom. Less than an hour after his Tuesday night debate with Vice President Kamala Harris ended, he entered the room crowded with reporters and asserted that he had given a strong performance.
After facing President Biden in June, Mr. Trump declared, “It was the best debate I’ve ever had.” Mr. Biden eventually withdrew from the race.
A room full of his surrogates and Harris campaign people buzzed until he entered. Immediately, he was surrounded by phones and cameras, drawing attention away from the Democrats present.
He mostly stuck to the same points when confronted with a flurry of shouted questions, such as stating that the moderators and ABC News had been unfair.
Nevertheless, there were indications that his self-assurance had been shaken. Mr. Trump had been pressuring Ms. Harris to accept several debates for weeks. Her campaign declared in an X post following the debate that she was prepared for another and posed the question, “Is Donald Trump?”.
Mr. Trump, however, seemed more cautious when questioned about her campaign’s apparent eagerness for a rematch. “She is demanding another debate because she was badly defeated tonight,” he urged.
Mr. Trump later expressed further skepticism about his willingness to participate in another debate after he had marched around the room to speak with Sean Hannity on Fox News.
“I need to consider it,” Mr. Trump remarked, adding that he believed Ms. Harris had lost the debate. “If a prize fighter is defeated, they will always want to fight again right away. “.
