Joe: GOP thinks by saying most radical, wild things they'll sway the middle

THE BOOK "HOW THE RIGHT LOST ITS MIND," CHARLIE SYKES. GOOD MORNING TO YOU ALL. SO "TRUMP DEBATE PERFORMANCE FRUSTRATES REPUBLICANS," WAS THE HEADLINE IN THE "WALL STREET JOURNAL." "THE JOURNAL" STATES, "GOP LAWMAKERS AND OTHERS FRETTED THAT TRUMP HAD MISSED CHANCES TO CHALLENGE HARRIS ON HER RECORD. INSTEAD, LET HIS OWN CONTROVERSIES BECOME THE BIGGER STORY, AS HARRIS' NEEDLING GOT UNDER HIS SKIN. LINDSEY GRAHAM OF SOUTH CAROLINA, OF COURSE A STAUNCH ALLY OF DONALD TRUMP, CALLED THE DEBATE A MISSED OPPORTUNITY." REPUBLICAN SENATOR KEVIN CRAMER OF NORTH DAKOTA SAID, QUOTE, "HE TREATED IT LIKE A MINI RALLY IN A LOT OF REPUBLICANS. YOU HAVE TO BE TALKING TO THE SWING VOTERS IN SWING STATES. HE COULD DO THAT BETTER WITH DETAILS." WE'RE ALSO GETTING REACTION FROM INSIDE THE TRUMP CAMP. ONE ADVISER TELLING NBC NEWS, QUOTE, "IT WAS NOT HIS BEST PERFORMANCE, WITHOUT QUESTION." THAT'S FROM INSIDE THE TRUMP CAMP. A LONG-TIME REPUBLICAN OPERATIVE SAYING, "I KNOW EVERYONE IN THE WORLD HAS SAID THIS, BUT THE INABILITY, UNWILLINGNESS TO REALIZE WHEN HE IS BEING BAITED AND NOT FALL FOR IT IS CONSTANTLY BAFFLING." HOW ABOUT THIS? ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. OF COURSE, RECENTLY SUSPENDED HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN TO ENDORSE TRUMP, CRITICIZED TRUMP'S DEBATE PERFORMANCE. >> VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS CLEARLY WON THE DEBATE IN TERMS OF HER DELIVERY, HER POLISH, HER ORGANIZATION, AND HER PREPARATION. I THINK ON SUBSTANCE, PRESIDENT TRUMP WINS IN TERMS OF HIS GOVERNANCE, BUT HE DIDN'T TELL THAT STORY. >> IN THE FROM A GUY, JOHN, WITH AN AFFINITY FOR EATING ANIMALS THAT HE HIT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THAT'S TOUGH CRITICISM. >> CENTRAL PART. >> YEAH. >> LOOKED LIKE IT WAS DECIMATED. >> ROBERT F KENNEDY. THERE IS WIDESPREAD CONSTERNATION FROM INSIDE THE TRUMP CAMP AND OTHER REPUBLICANS WHO SAY -- WHO SAID, CLAIMED, THAT TRUMP WAS PREPARED. HE WAS GOING TO GO IN THERE AND HAMMER HOME THE ECONOMY AND IMMIGRATION. AND HE DID TRY A COUPLE OF TIMES TO SHOEHORN IMMIGRATION ANSWERS INTO QUESTIONS, BUT THEN HE WAS DERAILED BY TALKING ABOUT EATING DOGS AND CATS IN OHIO. TO THE POINT YESTERDAY, THE CITY MANAGER OF THAT TOWN IN SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, HAD TO HOLD A NEWS CONFERENCE. BRIAN PROBABLY DIDN'T HAVE THIS ON THE BINGO CARD, WHERE HIS LIFE WOULD LEAD HIM, HAD TO SAY, THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN. THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE, MIKE DeWINE, SAID, IT'S NOT TRUE. IT'S NOT HAPPENING HERE. IT DIDN'T DISSUADE TRUMP, THOUGH, WHO CONTINUED TO PUSH IT YESTERDAY. HE SAID ABC'S BROADCAST LICENSE SHOULD BE TAKEN AWAY BECAUSE OF PERCEIVED BIAS IN THE STATE. FOR REPUBLICANS, THE CONCERN IS TWO-FOLD. ONE, THEY KNOW HARRIS, STILL UNKNOWN TO A LOT OF AMERICANS, CAME OUT LOOKING GOOD. SHE PASSED THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF TEST. SECONDLY, TRUMP'S CRAZINESS WAS ON FULL DISPLAY, AND SHE WAS ABLE TO BAIT HIM SEVERAL TIMES INTO LOOKING UNHINGED AND TO GETTING ANGRY, AND REMINDING AMERICANS WHY THEY GOT TIRED OF HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE. THAT, I THINK, JOE, IS SOMETHING THAT A LOT IN THE TRUMP -- THOSE -- TRUMP'S CLOSEST ADVISORS, INCLUDING SOME I SPOKE TO YESTERDAY AFTERNOON, WHO SAID, YOU KNOW, AS THEY GO BACK AND FORTH AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THEY'LL DEBATE WITH HER AGAIN, THEY FEEL THEY GAVE HER AN ASSIST, THAT TRUMP FORMED AN IMPRESSION IN PEOPLE'S MINDS WHO ARE REMINDED, WHO MAY HAVE HAD TRUMP AMNESIA, LIKE, OH, MAYBE THINGS WEREN'T THAT BAD, MAYBE WE LIKE HIS ECONOMY, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE, AND THEN THEY LOOK AT THAT AND GO, OH, WE DON'T WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN. >> NO. I MEAN, 60 MILLION VIEWERS SAW THAT SIDE OF DONALD TRUMP. I MEAN, 60 MILLION. THE ONLY TWO TV SHOWS IN AMERICA THAT PEOPLE WATCH MORE OF, THE SUPER BOWL AND "WAY TOO EARLY" WITH JONATHAN LEMIRE. >> YEAH. >> OUTSIDE OF THAT -- >> YEAH. >> YOU KNOW WHAT THAT PRESSURE IS LIKE. WILLIE, YOU KNOW, I THINK EVERYBODY WAS FOCUSED, INCLUDING REPUBLICANS, ON HOW BADLY DONALD TRUMP DID BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T FOCUS ON HOW WELL KAMALA HARRIS DID. IT WAS BROUGHT HOME LAST NIGHT. I WAS SCROLLING THROUGH THE NEWS, AND I SAW A COUPLE OF WATCH PARTIES. PEOPLE WATCHING HARRIS. HER PAUSING AT CERTAIN POINTS, WHICH YOU'RE WATCHING IT AND YOU'RE LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE WATCHING IT IN YOUR OWN HOME AND YOU DON'T GET HOW EVERYBODY IS REACTING. BUT PEOPLE WERE LAUGHING AT HER, THE PAUSES. REALLY, AFTER STARTING THE FIRST COUPLE MINUTES A BIT NERVOUS, SHE REALLY COMMANDED IT. A DEMOCRAT WHO WORKED ON PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS, AND MARK McKINNON, A REPUBLICAN, WHO OBVIOUSLY WORKED ON GEORGE W. BUSH'S CAMPAIGNS AND McCAIN'S CAMPAIGN, BOTH SAID THE SAME THING. THEY BELIEVE IT WAS THE BEST DEBATE PERFORMANCE THEY HAVE SEEN SINCE JFK'S IN 1960. SO THAT IS THEIR OPINION. I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT HOW THIS DEBATE IS GOING TO IMPACT PEOPLE, WE TAKE NOTE OF THE FACT THAT DONALD TRUMP LOST BUT, AT THE SAME TIME, IN EQUAL MEASURES, KAMALA HARRIS WON. BY DOING SO, WITH A MASSIVE TV AUDIENCE, SHE CLEARED THE HURDLE. SHE MOVED THAT SHE WAS NOT WHAT THE TRUMP RIGHT HAS BEEN CALLING HER FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS. >> IT WAS A HUGE TEST FOR HER. IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE DNC IN CHICAGO, THERE WAS A GREAT CONVENTION, BUT THAT'S A PEP RALLY. THAT'S A HOME GAME. SHE LOOKED GREAT IN THAT. THE PARTY WAS UNIFIED THERE. NOW, SHE STEPS INTO THE ARENA WITH THE OPPONENT. SHE'S IN THE BOXING RING. THIS ISN'T SPARRING ANYMORE. IT WAS REAL. YOU MAKE A GREAT POINT. BECAUSE DONALD TRUMP'S ATROCIOUS, HISTORICALLY TERRIBLE PERFORMANCE OVERSHADOWS, IN SOME WAYS, THE WAYS IN WHICH SHE INSTIGATED HIS PERFORMANCE, SHE PROVOKED HIM AND GOT HIM TO GO TO HIS DARKEST PLACES, AND THEN WAS ABLE TO SIT IN A SPLIT SCREEN. THE SUBTEXT WAS, DO YOU WANT THIS AGAIN, AMERICA? RATIONAL, SANE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO LIVE YOUR LIVES, HAVE A STRONG ECONOMY, TAKE CARE OF YOUR FAMILY? DO YOU WANT TO LIVE THROUGH THIS ANOTHER FOUR, FIVE YEARS? SHE'D TURN AND SAY, HE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT HIMSELF. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOU. I THINK IT WAS THE MESSAGE SHE WANTED TO DRIVE HOME. CHARLIE SYKES, WE HEARD FROM POLLSTERS, PEOPLE LIKE FOCUS GROUPS, THE DIALS WENT DOWN ON DONALD TRUMP WHEN HE LAUNCHED INTO INSANE RANTS ABOUT EATING DOGS AND OTHER THINGS. ALSO THE INCONSISTENCIES HE CAN'T EXPLAIN AWAY ON THE ISSUE OF ABORTION, FOR EXAMPLE. WHAT'D YOU SEE AS YOU WATCHED WITH YOUR TRAINED EYE A COUPLE NIGHTS AGO? >> WELL, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF WHAT WE SAW WITH DONALD TRUMP, YOU KNOW, THE BITTERNESS, THE ANGRY, THE FABULISM IS FAMILIAR FOR US WHO WATCHED DONALD TRUMP OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS. THIS MAY HAVE COME AS A REVELATION OR REMINDER TO TENS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE TUNING IN AND GO, "OH, MY GOSH, WHO IS THIS ANGRY, OLD MAN YELLING AT THE CLOUDS HERE?" AS YOU POINT OUT, KAMALA HARRIS IS AN UNKNOWN FACTOR FOR MANY, MANY, MANY VOTERS, AND SHE PUT ON A REALLY EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMANCE. NOT JUST DISCIPLINED. LOOK, SHE ALSO WON THE SPLIT SCREEN IN A RATHER DRAMATIC FASHION. I THINK THAT WAS A LITTLE UNDERAPPRECIATED. >> OH, YEAH. >> BUT A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE. I THINK YOU HIGHLIGHTED THIS AT THE TOP OF THE SHOW. THERE'S A WARNING HERE, TOO. YOU KNOW, DONALD TRUMP, AS WE KNOW, LIVES IN A BUBBLE OF DELUSION. ALSO, WHAT HE DEMONSTRATED WAS REPUBLICANS REFUSE TO TAKE THE L. THEY REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT -- HE REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE HE LOST. ALSO, THEY REMAIN ADDICTED TO THESE FAKE INTERNET MEMES, EVEN AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN DEBUNKED. THEY WILL NOT LET GO OF THE BIG LIE. I THINK THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE -- THIS IS NOT A NEW PATTERN, FOR THOSE OF US WHO FOLLOW THIS, BUT THINK OF THIS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ELECTION AND THE BIG LIE. DONALD TRUMP IS CREATING AN ALTERNATIVE REALITY WHERE HE NEVER ADMITS THAT HE LOSES, AND NO MATTER HOW EGREGIOUS THE LIE IS, NO MATTER HOW MUCH IT HAS BEEN REFUTED, THEY WILL STICK WITH IT. I THINK THAT'S EXTRAORDINARY. HOW DEEPLY ONLINE THEY'VE GOTTEN AND HOW, YOU KNOW, BY THE WAY, TALK ABOUT BLATANTLY RACIST, YOU KNOW, IMAGERY OF DONALD TRUMP SAVING KITTENS IN AMERICA FROM ANGRY, BLACK MEN. BUT THEY'RE NOT LETTING IT GO. THEY WON'T LET THESE THINGS GO. I THINK THIS IS, AGAIN, A MARKER AND A WARNING FOR OUR TIMES. >> YOU KNOW, WILLIE, THERE IS A PARALLEL. IT'S NOT A REALLY STRONG PARALLEL BECAUSE NOTHING COMPARES TO DONALD TRUMP, BUT YOU REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE COVERING THE 2012 ELECTION. MITT ROMNEY, HIS CAMPAIGN, HIS FAMILY LIVED INSIDE THE FOX NEWS BUBBLE. YOU'LL REMEMBER ON THE FRONT PAGE OF "DRUDGE" EVERY DAY WAS ROMNEY PLUS 11, BECAUSE THE GALLUP POLLS WERE SO WILDLY OFF. YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT NIGHT. I'M SAYING, THIS PUBLIC THEY LIVE IN, WHERE PEOPLE ARE GOING, OH, MY, THIS BUBBLE LEADS TO DISASTER MOST TIMES. YOU'LL REMEMBER, MITT ROMNEY AND ANN ROMNEY, WHO PEOPLE I LOVE, THEY, LATE INTO THE EVENING, THEY WERE SURE THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE NUMBERS. BECAUSE IT WENT AGAINST EVERYTHING THAT WAS IN THAT BUBBLE IN 2012. REPUBLICANS LIVED IN IT, EVEN PRE-TRUMP. YOU'LL REMEMBER KARL ROVE SAYING, "SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THESE NUMBERS." EVEN LATE INTO THE NIGHT, NOBODY COULD BELIEVE IT BECAUSE THEY HAD ALL BEEN LIVING IN A BUBBLE. I'M SORRY, BUT I'VE JUST GOT TO SAY IT, THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENED EVERY YEAR SINCE 2017. THEY LIVE IN A BUBBLE. THEY CONVINCE THEMSELVES THAT BY SAYING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARE COMING TO AMERICA WITH LEPROSY, THAT CARAVANS ARE COMING TO EAT THEIR CHILDREN, YOU KNOW, THEY THINK THAT BY SAYING THE MOST RADICAL, WILD THINGS, THOUGH IT'S AN EXAGGERATION, THAT, SOMEHOW, THEY'RE GOING TO SWAY THE MIDDLE. THEY NEVER DO. IT DOESN'T WORK. IT WORKED FOR ONE DAY IN NOVEMBER NINE YEARS AGO. WHEN DONALD TRUMP ADMITTED TERWARDS TO ME THAT THE ELECTION COULD HAVE BEEN HELD ON TEN DAYS, HE MAY HAVE ONLY ONE IT ON THAT ONE DAY. AND THEY HAVE TANKED THEIR ENTIRE PARTY, DESTROYED THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT, BASED ON THAT ONE DAY. BECAUSE A LETTER WAS WRITTEN TEN