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Harris mocks Trump's debate performance at campaign rally

By Alex Gangitano - 9/12/24, 5:21 PM EDT

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Vice President Harris on Thursday mocked former President Trump’s debate performance, calling him out at a rally in North Carolina for having “concepts of a plan."

Harris poked fun at Trump for saying that he was interested in trying to repeal ObamaCare again but added that he doesn’t currently have a plan to replace it.

“I have concepts of a plan. I’m not president right now,” Trump said during Tuesday's debate. 

“You heard what he said in the debate, he has no plan to replace it. He said, 'concepts of a plan,'” Harris said at the rally, laughing.

“Oh, you all watched the debate?” she added, while the crowd yelled for her.

“Concepts, concepts, no actual plan, concepts,” Harris said. “And understand what’s at stake on that. 45 million Americans are insured through the Affordable Care Act and he’s going to end it based on a concept.”

Harris had a sharp debate performance that Democrats and pundits have praised — especially her success in baiting Trump into going off message.

A CNN flash poll found 63 percent of viewers believed she outperformed Trump. And a new Reuters/Ipsos poll on Thursday found her leading Trump by 5 points, 47 percent to 42 percent, after the debate — 1 point better than its last poll.

The vice president told the rally crowd that during the debate, she talked about issues that she knows "matter to families across America” but argued that the former president didn’t have a plan.

“But that’s not what we heard from Donald Trump. Instead, it was the same old show, that same tired playbook that we’ve heard for years,” she said. “With no plans for how he would address the needs of the American people because, you now, it’s all about him, it’s not about you.”

The vice president also re-upped her calls for a second debate after Trump said earlier Thursday that he wouldn’t debate Harris again.

“Two nights ago, Donald Trump and I had our first debate,” she said to yells from the crowd. “And I believe we owe it to the voters to have another debate. Because this election and what is at stake could not be more important.”

Trump squashed the idea, posting on social platform X ahead of her rally that Harris only wants a second debate against him because she lost.

“KAMALA SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE DURING THE LAST ALMOST FOUR YEAR PERIOD. THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” he wrote.

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