Republican nominee Donald Trump's support team are having a tough time spinning his performance at Monday's night debate into a victory.
Fox News, CNN, and Bloomberg Politics all agree Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was the stronger of the two in the first debate of the election, but Trump's allies have been finding ways to praise his performance.
"I think he went toe-to-toe with Secretary Clinton," Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said to reporters after the event, refuting former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who said on Twitter "this debate was not [Trump's] best."
"I think Donald Trump had a great night," Trump's running mate Gov. Mike Pence, R-Ind., said on "Good Morning America." He continued, saying Trump "took command of the stage, and I think the American people saw his leadership qualities."
"The pundits will have all their different views . . . but I know that message resonated all across America and, particularly, in places like Pennsylvania and Ohio and Michigan that have been so hard hit by these bad trade deals."
House Speaker Paul Ryan called Trump's performance "spirited" and passed "a number of thresholds."
"Listen, I think you can always improve," Gov. Chris Christie, R-NJ, said, likening Trump's performance to that of President Barack Obama at the first debate of the 2012 election against former Gov. Mitt Romney.
"[Obama] was getting knocked all over the place by his own party for his performance in the first debate. In the second debate, you saw a difference," Christie continued. "That's why they don't only have one of these, they have three of them."
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