House Republicans bemoan Trump debate performance: �Not good�

House Republicans are bemoaning former President Trump�s performance in
the first � and potentially only � debate against Vice President Harris,
acknowledging that the Democratic nominee successfully got under her GOP
opponent�s skin.

Several times throughout the more than 90-minute debate in Philadelphia,
Harris appeared to try to bait Trump with attacks on matters that hit
close to home � the size of his rallies, the magnitude of his family
fortune, world leaders �laughing� at him � in an effort to thwart his
composed posture. Some House Republicans say she succeeded.

�I�m just sad,� one House Republican who is supportive of Trump told The
Hill. �She knew exactly where to cut to get under his skin. Just overall
disappointing that he isn�t being more composed like the first debate.�

�The road just got very narrow,� they added. �This is not good.�

A second House Republican, who requested anonymity to discuss the
sensitive topic, said �many� in the GOP conference were �disappointed�
that Trump could not stay on message throughout the debate.

�She talks to us like toddlers but is doing a good job provoking him. He
[is] right on policy but can�t keep to a message,� the lawmaker said.
�Many are disappointed he couldn�t stay focused or land a punch. Not sure
much changes but it wasn�t a good performance.�

�Lots of missed opportunities so far,� a third House Republican told The
Hill in a text message during the debate. �It�s not devastating � but
it�s not good.�

Tuesday night�s debate was a pivotal moment in the 2024 election cycle,
marking the first time Trump and Harris had met in person and the first
head-to-head match-up between the two nominees.

Trump, for his part, said he believed he put on a strong performance. The
former president told Fox News�s Sean Hannity after the event, �I had a
good time, I think it was our best debate ever,� before tearing into the
moderators, ABC News�s David Muir and Linsey Davis.

�We had three against one,� Trump said.

A number of his supporters on Capitol Hill echoed that sentiment. Rep.
Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), for example, wrote on the social platform X,
�Trump doing very well & he is right on policy but this debate is
skewed!� Meanwhile, House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik
(N.Y.) dubbed his performance �strong.�

But in a sign of potential concern within the campaign, Trump appeared in
the spin room after the debate to deliver the same positive message to
reporters, an unconventional move for a major-party candidate. And he is
now balking at the idea of a second debate.

The Harris campaign called for another presidential debate against Trump
almost immediately after the first one concluded. Trump, however, said
his team would take the prospect under consideration.

�She wants to do another one because she was beaten tonight. I don�t know
if we�re going to do another one,� Trump said in the spin room. �She
wants a second debate because she lost tonight, very badly. � We�ll think
about that.�

While Trump kept a positive face publicly, some House Republicans are
privately conceding that the former president�s performance could have
been stronger.

�I think he is all over the map and has missed opportunities to hammer
her record,� the House Republican said. �He�s made strong points on the
economy, immigration, and foreign policy, but it�s been disjointed at
times.�

�Rough start,� said a fifth House Republican. �Moderators could be
better.�

The attempts by Harris to bait Trump during the debate emerged as some of
the most memorable moments of the evening�s event, with Trump appearing
to become agitated by her comments.

At one point, Harris invited viewers to attend one of Trump�s rallies,
claiming that attendees leave early �out of exhaustion and boredom.� The
comment appeared to strike a nerve with Trump, who responded �we have the
biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics,�
before citing a conspiracy theory that Haitian immigrants in Springfield,
Ohio, are eating pets.

The false allegations drew national headlines earlier this week when Sen.
JD Vance (R-Ohio), the former president�s running mate, amplified the
incorrect claim on X. The tangent by Trump prompted a fact check by Muir.

�The rally stuff we didn�t need,� the fifth House Republican told The
Hill.

A sixth House Republican told The Hill that they were unable to watch the
debate because they had a fundraiser, but the commentary was not
positive.

�I didn�t watch it but I�m not hearing anything good from it,� the GOP
lawmaker said.

House Democrats, meanwhile, were eager to laud their nominee, basking in
what they deemed a positive performance that followed a roller-coaster
few months for the party after President Biden stepped down and Harris
ascended to the top of the ticket. But they were also sure to take a jab
at Trump.

�Probably the most one-sided debate victory I have ever seen,� one House
Democrat told The Hill. �Trump is so much more unhinged and incoherent
than I thought he would be, and she is poised, strong, and Pitch
Perfect.�

�I�m proud of her. I stand with her,� echoed a second House Democrat.
�She makes sense. And he�s nuts.�

Newly released body camera footage shows the arrest of a social media model accused of causing a fatal downtown Miami car crash last month she was on a concoction of substances known as "pink cocaine."

Maecee Marie Lathers, 24, was arrested shortly after the 7 a.m. Aug. 10 crash in which her Mercedes slammed into a Range Rover and Suzuki, local station WTVJ-TV reported. Two people were killed and two others were injured.

The Instagram model, who has over 13,000 followers, faces 10 criminal charges including vehicular homicide, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, causing injury and leaving the scene with death, court records show.

Lathers told police she had taken tusi, a party drug also known as pink cocaine, during her arrest, according to WTVJ-TV. Police said Lathers also claimed to have a crystal ball and to be from the future. State prosecutors later shared a toxicology report that found several drugs in her system but no alcohol.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9QshrBu2SR/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=512d7fae-db98-4c8a-b86a-1d91135595c9

The Miami Gardens resident was placed under house arrest after posting bond, the station reported. However she returned to jail following two DUI manslaughter charges added at a court hearing Tuesday.

USA TODAY has reached out to Lathers' attorney for comment but did not immediately receive a response by Friday night.

Video shows Lathers screaming during arrest
Body camera footage released by Miami police to multiple media outlets shows Lathers on the ground, topless and breathing heavily after the Aug. 10 accident.

Handcuffed by officers, she is seen screaming and sounding incoherent.

"She's on tusi. She said that right now," one officer said in the video. "She’s like, 'Oh, I’m from the future.'"

Police said bystanders stopped Lathers from leaving the scene of the crash, according to the Miami Herald. Upon arrival, officers found her vomiting.

What is tusi, or pink cocaine?
Tusi, or 2C, is a pink powder that combines psychoactive substances like ketamine, MDMA (ecstasy), methamphetamine and opioids, according to a report by New York University professor Joseph J. Palamar published in the National Center For Biotechnology Information last year.

Despite its name, the drug rarely contains actual cocaine, the report says.

"The tusi phenomenon also has the potential to complicate drug research as unknown exposure to drugs like ketamine and MDMA will lead to underreporting of use," Palamar wrote. “

Tusi is short for "tusibi" and also known as "tuci" or "tucibi," NewsNation reported. The synthetic drug reportedly originated in Colombia and is illegally sold in the U.S.

Abraham Ismael and Jesus Rubio killed in crash
The crash for which Lathers is being charged killed Abraham Ismael and Jesus Rubio, the Miami Herald reported.

Ismael, a father of a teenage son, was driving to work in a Suzuki with his fiancée, Juanita Hernandez, and Rubio, his friend, when the crash occurred. First responders extricated Ismael from the wreckage and he died at a local hospital while Rubio was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the the Miami Herald.

Hernandez sustained injuries including face and arm cuts. A 23-year-old man driving the Range Rover sustained minor injuries from the crash.

"It has been weeks of great anguish and the ashes have already been delivered to us," Hernandez wrote in Spanish on a GoFundMe page for Ismael on Aug. 29.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/09/13/instagram-model-marie-lathers-pink-cocaine-miami/75213417007/