Harris behaved like a “spoiled teenager” during the debate

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Republican of Georgia) sharply criticized Vice President Harris' performance at the ABC News debate against former President Trump, claiming she behaved like a “spoiled teenager.”

In an opinion piece for Fox News published Saturday, Gingrich repeatedly slammed debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis as well as the political “elite,” claiming Harris had “failed to achieve her goals.”

“Harris further damaged herself by spending much of her listening time making faces and looking cute,” Gingrich wrote in the op-ed. “This was the behavior of a spoiled teenager, not a commander in chief.”

“The elites care more about style than substance,” he continued. “They want everyone to behave as if they were at a cocktail party in Washington. Most Americans are not that pompous. Most Americans do not appreciate having well-dressed, smart people treat them as if they were ignorant and unable to recognize when they are being manipulated and lied to.”

The former spokesman said the political “elite” misinterpreted what happened at Tuesday night's ABC News debate because they favored “style” over “substance.”

“The fact is that authenticity is better than wearing a mask,” he wrote. “Being yourself is better than trying to be the person your advisers have trained you to be. That has always been the case in American politics.”

The Georgia Republican wrote that Trump's “authenticity” and “substance” surpassed Harris' “dishonesty and over-trained style.”

Shortly after the debate, in which Harris sparred with the former president on a range of issues, a CNN snap poll showed that 63 percent of registered voters on Tuesday night called the Democratic candidate the winner. A Morning Consult poll after the debate showed Harris' lead growing to 5 percentage points.

“The simple fact is: Vice President Harris cannot tell the truth because an honest admission of her beliefs – and the failures of the last three and a half years – would doom her campaign,” Gingrich wrote.

“So we had a debate between the privileged, sheltered, elitist princess of the left and a down-to-earth guy that people understand,” he said.

The Hill has asked Harris' campaign team for comment.

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