Donald Trump faces his own debate fallout just months after benefiting from Joe Biden's

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump emerged Wednesday from a rocky debate against Kamala Harris looking to regain his footing with 55 days until Election Day, the first ballots already going out in Alabama and other states on the cusp of early voting.

Not even three months ago, Trump stepped off the debate stage in Atlanta having watched President Joe Biden deliver a disjointed, whispery performance that led the 81-year-old Democrat to end his reelection bid and endorse Harris, his vice president. By the end of Tuesday night, it was the 78-year-old Trump on the defensive after the 59-year-old Harris controlled much of the debate, repeatedly baiting the Republican former president into agitated answers replete with exaggerations and mistruths.

The performance left many Republicans scrambling to pick apart Harris' performance and insist that Trump still has time to refocus on the economy, immigration and other issues that could sway a closely divided electorate.

“I think the contrast could have been drawn more sharply on what her policies have done over the last three and a half years,” said Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia in a critique of the former president's approach. “That’s what I would have focused on.”