Conservatives say Donald Trump delivered a lackluster performance full of missed opportunities during Monday night's presidential debate with Hillary Clinton.
Veteran political consultant and Newsmax contributor Dick Morris said Trump dropped the ball several times at the 90-minute verbal slugfest at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.
"He's asked the question about cybersecurity — and he takes it on face value and he lets Hillary take it on face value. The answer on cybersecurity is secure your own damn email, secretary of state, and he didn't do that," Morris said.
"Then, he's asked a question about what can we do to reduce the crime in various cities? And he doesn't take it. He doesn't talk about stopping immigrants from coming in, from terror-sponsoring countries … He could have done such a better job."
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said: "Trump … often seemed to be winging it. He's great at that, and he landed some solid hits, but he also let a lot of softballs whiff by. He sometimes went into rhetorical cul-de-sacs, repeating the ‘we make bad deals' theme that can make him sound like a one-trick pony.
"And he let Hillary … put him on the defensive too often. For instance, he could have brushed off some of the piddling attacks on non-issues like birtherism or what he once allegedly said about a beauty pageant contestant by reminding viewers of the serious issues America faces and how such petty nonsense pales in significance to Clinton's demonstrated record of failure on national security and the economy. But he missed many such opportunities."
Bill Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, said: "After the first 15 minutes, Trump didn't take advantage of his ability to box Clinton in as a defender of the status quo … I'm not positive Hillary actually won the debate. But I'm sure Trump lost it. He choked."
Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt said on MSNBC:
"I think Donald Trump won the first — I clocked it at 29 minutes when birtherism came up. He blew that badly, terribly, and it turned the debate around. She then delivered a knockout blow on speaking to our strategic allies."
Republican political consultant Stuart Stevens tweeted:
Radio host and conservative blogger Erick Erickson tweeted:
National Review's David French tweeted:
Republican political consultant John Weaver tweeted:
Syndicated radio host Steve Deace wrote on Facebook:
According to The Washington Post, veteran GOP lobbyist Ed Rogers said: "Even if you are a Trump supporter, you have to think that he left a lot on the table. He didn't see the openings and he didn't swing at the softballs that came his way.
"He never used the word 'change,' he didn't bore in on Hillary's email scandal and he never got around to the Clinton Foundation and Hillary's suspect integrity. Trump was inarticulate and rarely hit the bull's eye."
Jennifer Rubin, author of The Washington Post's "Right Turn" column, said: "Trump needed to conceal his temper … and appear ready to be president. He didn't. There were too many instances in which the real Donald showed through. Clinton wasn't emotive, but she was cool and efficient in drawing blood."
However, some conservatives did have Trump's back.
Actor James Woods tweeted about Clinton:
Conservative writer Ann Coulter said the debate format was skewed against Trump in a tweet:
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson said: "Mr. Trump put forth a plain-spoken plan, leaning on his successful business experiences, drawing a sharp contrast to the years of perfected political double-speak delivered by Hillary Clinton."