GOP strategist compares Trump's debate performance to an old man 'arguing with himself'

(Image credit: YouTube.com/RawStory)

published 20 October 2016

A GOP strategist spent his Wednesday night insulting both Donald Trump and old men who sit in the park and feed squirrels.

After the final presidential debate, Steve Schmidt, an adviser to John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, told MSNBC's Brian Williams he found Trump's refusal to say if he will accept the results of the election "a disqualifying moment. It's a moment of clear and present danger to our constitutional order, to the Republic. It's unprecedented in the history of the country." He called on House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to "exhibit political courage, to put the country first, and to communicate very clearly that we have legitimate elections in this country and that is how we choose our leaders."

Schmidt gave Trump a bit of praise, saying he started off on a decent note, but as the debate went on, Trump was "provoked throughout, he became angrier, he lost control." On national security, he was "incoherent," acting like an "old man in the park feeding squirrels, arguing with himself on the question of Mosul, incoherent on the question of Aleppo, just somebody who has not prepared himself over the course of the campaign on these vital national security issues." Watch the video below. Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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