Gov. Roy Cooper appears in spin room after Tuesday’s debate as a key Harris surrogate
“Unhinged.”
“Angry.”
“Not presidential.”
Those were some of Gov. Roy Cooper’s initial reactions to the debate performance of former President Donald Trump against Vice President Kamala Harris Tuesday night.
He was talking to reporters backstage of the debate, in Philadelphia, in the spin room and his conversation was captured on television by C-SPAN.
Just before midnight, Cooper spoke to McClatchy.
And his opinion on Harris’ performance was the clear opposite.
“She looked very presidential,” Cooper said. “It’s clear that she wants to be a president for all Americans, and she made a convincing case. It’s time to turn the page on Donald Trump.”
Cooper and Harris are longtime friends. Their relationship stretches more than a decade to when they both served as attorneys general of their states. And they’ve followed each other’s careers. For Cooper that was into the governor’s mansion. For Harris, into the U.S. Senate and then to the executive branch.
Since Harris launched her campaign on July 21, Cooper has been one of her fiercest allies and a top surrogate, stumping for her when she needs him. That includes introducing her at the Democratic National Convention ahead of her accepting the party’s nominee to be its presidential candidate.
So it wasn’t a big surprise that Cooper would be backstage on Tuesday night.
“On every issue she was able to meet what he had to say head on,” Cooper told McClatchy. “She had the plans for the American people. He really had no plans. It was pretty clear, not only who won this debate, but who should be president.”
As for Trump, Cooper said he “unraveled” and that there were a number of times that he was “almost incoherent” and “clearly angry.”
“He never responded to the question of whether he would veto or sign a national abortion ban,” Cooper said. “And he started rambling incoherently about student loans. He never did address why he killed the strongest immigration bill in a generation, yet complained about immigration most of the night, and I think that he was frustrated at how strong and confident and competent Kamala Harris was tonight.”
Cooper also noted that Trump was rattled when Harris mentioned that numerous people, from his chiefs of staff, to secretaries to military personnel, who worked closely with the former president say he’s unfit to be president.
“I think that got him angry,” Cooper said. “And it shows that he should never be trusted again to be president.”
The debate Tuesday night was high-stakes for both candidates.
They had never met in person until they walked across the debate stage.
They sparred, they traded barbs and in between they talked, or defended, their policy positions on abortion, immigration and the economy.
While Cooper offered support to Harris in person, many notable North Carolina Republicans threw support behind Trump online.
Rep. Richard Hudson, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, was among them.
“President @realDonaldTrump delivered a strong America First message tonight on how he will lower costs, secure our borders, and ensure peace through strength,” Hudson wrote on social media. “MAKE NO MISTAKE: President Trump is the only candidate with a proven record who will Make America Great Again!”
There was more attention on Tuesday night’s event since the first presidential debate of the season cost President Joe Biden his reelection bid.
Biden was the presumed Democratic nominee until the June 27 debate, when even his strongest supporters admitted that he gave a poor performance. Biden, who was reportedly sick at the time, often rambled, sounded vocally weak and often left his thoughts trailing off.
Critics quickly said it showed that Biden was too old to continue leading the United States. Biden is less than four years older than Trump.
Biden waited until July 21, after the Republican National Convention ended, to withdraw his candidacy and immediately endorsed Harris as his successor.
Since then Harris’ campaign has painted her as a fresh face who brings joy back into politics with a laundry list of accomplishments, while Trump’s campaign ridicules her for being “lazy” and “weak,” and soft on policy issues like immigration.
Tuesday night gave Harris a chance to address the nation personally, to talk about her policy issues and how she differs from Trump. It also gave Trump the opportunity to show how he measures up against his new opponent.
Shortly after the debate came the endorsement of Harris by pop superstar Taylor Swift, someone who, while not notable in politics, had a legion of fans calling on her to weigh in.
The anniversary of 9/11 Wednesday will cause a brief pause in Harris’ campaigning, but she will return to the trail Thursday and her first stop will be back in North Carolina where she will engage with voters in Charlotte and Greensboro.
Cooper said it marks her 18th visit since becoming vice president, and her ninth this year. And while Cooper’s presence backstage shows the support between the two elected officials, it more likely punctuates the emphasis her campaign is putting on North Carolina as a key battleground state.
On Monday, Quinnipiac University released a poll that showed Harris pulled ahead of Trump in North Carolina by 3%, a significant feat considering former President Obama is the only Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since 1976. But Quinnipiac noted quickly that the state is still too close to call.
“She knows she can win North Carolina,” Cooper said.
This story was originally published September 10, 2024 at 3:08 PM.
