Charles Krauthammer thought the big winner of Wednesday night's final presidential debate was the moderator, Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, he said on Fox News. But Donald Trump almost pulled off a win, too, he said. Almost. "Trump had a really good night, but here the consensus is right: He blew it up by a totally wrong answer on accepting the results," Krauthammer said. "And in some sense, I almost admire him for it. This was not a gaffe, where you say something off-the-cuff and it's what you think but it's wrong. You know that he'd been coached on this. You know that his vice president had said, 'of course we will accept the result,' and his campaign manager and his daughter. And you know he's convinced this is something he wants to take a stand on, and the calculation — this is political suicide. Because what was his task tonight? His task tonight was to stop the slide" of "people grudgingly going over to Clinton."
Wavering voters won't change their minds about Hillary Clinton, he argued, but they might have been persuaded to come back to Trump if he had made himself "less toxic and acceptable as president, and less radical — yes, they want a change agent, they think the country's on the wrong track, but they don't want a radical who will challenge the foundations of the republic." Earlier on Fox News, Bill Bennett had said that Trump is right to keep people guessing, and Trump obviously agrees, Krauthammer said. "I'm sure his calculation is that it's not going to cost him, and it's going to help him. I don't understand that calculation. But I do think he said it out of conviction. He's a man who says, 'I'm not a loser,' so if he does lose it's gotta be something else." Watch below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Marie Antoinette Style at the V&A: a ‘magnificent’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends The UK’s first show dedicated solely to the French queen explores the complex woman behind the ‘bling’
-
8 riveting museum exhibitions on view in the fallThe Week Recommends See Winslow Homer rarities and Black art reimagined
-
Crossword: September 18, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
