Debate Moderator Dana Perino Left Unimpressed By GOP Candidates: None of Them Had a ‘Memorable Line’

After presiding over the second Republican 2024 primary debate, Fox News’ Dana Perino came right out and said that each candidate she saw on the stage failed to wow her.

Perino joined her America’s Newsroom co-anchor Bill Hemmer on Thursday for a debrief on what she observed at the debate. As one of the debate’s three moderators, Perino had a front row seat for the fights between the candidates, and she had to intervene at multiple points to make sure the event didn’t spiral out of control.

When Hemmer asked Perino if she could declare a clear winner of the debate, she told him “I don’t think so,” even as she conceded that she was still trying to take everything in.

We knew that all seven candidates believe they had to have a big break-out moment. One of the things was hard to get past was they wanted to have their break-out moment and answer every topic in the first question of the night. We started with the economy. That’s the most important issue on people’s minds, but they also immediately turned to the border and crime and China. I said trust me, we have two hours. We’re going to get there.

But the other thing is we talked a lot about in the preview to this debate that Ronald Reagan in 1980 used the phrase ‘Are you better off today than you were four years ago?’ It was simple, it was clear, it has stood the test of time. What I did not hear last night is a good line like that. An authentic one or a planned one. I don’t have a memorable line that comes to mind this morning.

Hemmer remarked “that says a lot” as many debate watchers have noted that Donald Trump (who once again did not attend the debate) still looms large over his primary rivals. Hemmer also asked Perino to reflect on how she tried to ask the candidates who they think should drop out of the race.

While most of the candidates refused to answer the question, Chris Christie went beyond the parameters in order to say that Trump should go. It was to that point that Perino noted that unless the field of candidates narrows, “then President Trump goes ahead and walks away with it.”

Watch above via Fox News.