WH adviser caught calling Trump’s debate performance ‘crappy’

He also said the president’s performance in a 2016 debate against Hillary Clinton was “just awful”

WH economic adviser Stephen Moore reportedly called the president's first debate a "crappy" performance.

The criticism is coming from inside the house. 

White House economic adviser Stephen Moore is reportedly the latest person to criticize President Trump’s aggressive, interruption-filled display at the first presidential debate, telling a crowd earlier this month it was “a pretty crappy performance,” according to Documented, a government watchdog group which obtained the footage, the Huff Post reports.

“It was not a great performance by Trump; in fact, I thought it was a pretty crappy performance,” Mr Moore told a group at an October 2 “Election Protection Summit” hosted by FreedomWorks, a conservative grassroots organization.  

He also said he felt the same way about the president’s first debate with his previous Democratic rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“Oh my God, he was so bad in that debate, just awful,” he added.

But the Trump administration official said he was confident the president would rebound like he did in 2016, when he “clobbered” Ms Clinton in the remaining debates. “That’s what’s going to happen,” he said of the next bout with Joe Biden, adding, “God willing.”

The second presidential debate, originally scheduled for 15 October, is cancelled, after Mr Trump refused to join a virtual event, which had been proposed given his recent coronavirus diagnosis.

“I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate,” the president told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo last week. 

The Commission on Presidential Debates, a bipartisan panel that organizes the events, said on Friday, “It is now apparent there will be no debate on October 15, and the CPD will turn its attention to preparations for the final presidential debate scheduled for October 22.” 

In the meantime, both candidates are both maximizing their exposure to the public ahead of the November election. In lieu of a second face-off, Former Vice President Joe Biden will be speaking in a town hall event on ABC this Thursday, while Mr Trump is reportedly considering a similar format with NBC.

Last week, the president’s doctors cleared him for a return to public campaigning. He wasted no time, convening 2,000 supporters on the White House lawn for a speech Saturday.

Still, questions remain about the transparency and thoroughness of the president’s treatment, with doctors refusing to say when the last time he tested negative before his diagnosis, which would help decide when he would be guaranteed to be no longer contagious.