Former President Donald Trump said Wedesday that when he left the stage last week he thought he had the best debate and didnt challenge the moderators because he wanted to be elegant.
Trump recapped his showdown last Tuesday against Vice President Kamala Harris on Fox News late night show Gutfeld.
While most polls showed that viewers believed Harris had definitively won last weeks debate in Philadelphia, Trump admitted he came away from it with a different impression.
And I walked off of that stage and I thought I had the best debate. And I was very unfairly treated by the anchor. Im not fans of those guys anymore. And his hair was better five years ago, Trump said of ABC News David Muir. That happens. That happens with the clock.
Trump noted how he believed he had been considered the debate GOAT - greatest of all time - up until that point and complained that Muir and his co-moderator Linsey Davis fact-checked him nine times or 11 times and never corrected Harris.
Former President Donald Trump said Wedesday that when he left the stage last week he thought he had the best debate and didnt challenge the moderators because he wanted to be elegant
And the audience was absolutely - they went crazy, Trump continued.
There was no audience during the debate itself.
I walked off, I said, that was a great debate. I loved it, the Republican nominee said. But this was something that was a very special moment. I thought this was a tremendous debate.
But then the criticism came - including the chatter surrounding the viral moment where Trump falsely claimed Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating the pets.
It was all word salad from her, he complained. But the fake news said, "Oh, she did well."
Trump said he could have been Winston Churchill and the media would say well, he was OK, but he wasnt special tonight.
And I think my only regret is that I wanted to be elegant and I didnt want to go after the anchors, Trump said. I wish I did anyway.
Former President Donald Trump sat down for a taping of Fox News Channels late night Greg Gutfeld show, which aired Wednesday night
The former president (left) said he thought he had the best debate when he left the stage where he went back and forth with Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris (right)
Panelists on the nighttime Fox program asked Trump a variety of questions - including whether aliens were real and if he owned jeans.
He couldnt answer with certitude on aliens.
I dont think Im a believer, but Ive interviewed pilots that look like Tom Cruise but better than Tom Cruise, the blond crew-cut style, Trump recalled. These are not people that make up stories. They said, "All I know sir, is that there was a round object that was going four times faster than my F-22."
Theyve seen things that they cannot explain, Trump added.
He answered in the affirmative on blue jeans.
I have a very old pair that I doubt I fit in, the former president said.
Gutfeld also asked the billionaire ex-president if he wore pajamas.
I dont, Trump replied.
In a clip of the interview that was released before the episode aired, Gutfeld also asked Trump about his golf game - three days after an assassination attempt nearly occurred on his West Palm Beach course.
Well, I havent been thinking about it too much lately, Trump said with a laugh. I always said golf is a very dangerous game.
The Fox host joked, It really is, especially if theyre playing with you.
When the audience groaned Gutfeld inserted, What? That was a mean joke?
If they had told you that the shooter was there, would you have tried to take him out with your three wood? Gutfeld asked Trump.
I think so, the former president answered.