Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) praised Vice President Harris’s debate performance on Wednesday, saying the Democratic nominee showed she is “an intelligent, capable person.”
Romney, a staunch critic of former President Trump, said the vice president capitalized on the opportunity to present herself to tens of millions of American voters tuning into ABC News on Tuesday night.
“This was classic President Trump, a performance in the case of Kamala Harris, most people didn’t know her terribly well other than a few clips that that were not flattering that you might see on the Internet,” Romney told reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday in a clip captured by MSNBC.
“And people saw, actually, she’s an intelligent, capable person who has a point of view on issues,” he added. “And she actually demonstrated that time and again.”
The Tuesday debate was the first time Trump and Harris met each other in-person. The Democratic nominee found success on the debate stage, sparring with the ex-president on immigration and the economy, one of the most crucial issues this election cycle, while also playing offense with her stances on abortion and foreign policy.
Romney was not the only GOP politician to commend Harris on her showing. New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said Wednesday morning that Harris “definitely” won the first debate. A CNN flash poll, which came out shortly following the debate’s conclusion, found that 63 percent of registered voters who watched the two nominees exchange ideas on ABC News concluded that Harris came out on top. Around 37 percent said that Trump was the winner.
Earlier this year, Romney said he would not be voting for Trump in the 2024 general election, an announcement that came while President Biden was still running for a second term.