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As The Associated Press (AP) noted in its , “Thursday’s was a rerun that featured two candidates with a combined age of 159, but it went especially poorly for one of them, President Joe Biden.”

It didn’t take long for Republicans to pounce on what many perceived to be a deficient performance at the CNN Presidential Debate Thursday night by the current president against former President Donald Trump. Multiple outlets, including the AP, noted there were “quick concerns among Democrats” about Biden, 81, who was “halting and seemed to lose his train of thought.”

Debate coverage: Halting Biden tries to confront Trump at debate but stirs Democratic panic

The event led Trump senior campaign adviser Jason Miller, who is a Seattle native and a 1993 graduate of Edmonds Woodway High School, to make a bold statement about the state of Washington Thursday night.

“Washington state may now be in play,” Miller said in an exclusive text message to ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio.

Miller went on to offer effusive praise of the former president’s performance, labeling Trump as “a real leader.”

“President Trump delivered the greatest performance in debate history,” Miller said in a text message sent to ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio. “Millions of Americans have now been reminded what a real leader looks like, and have had their hope restored that we can turn around our economy and secure our southern border.”

Miller kept his comments to ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio focused on Trump, but he did offer a few words on Biden as well. According to , Miller said the former president delivered on the debate stage and held mostly to discussing issues.

On Joe Biden’s performance and any talk of Democrats turning to another nominee, Miller said a move would be “structurally impossible.”

“Sorry, Democrats. You have your nominee,” Miller said.

Charlie Harger commentary: It’s time to try something different regarding presidential debates

in its coverage last year, Miller — who worked on Trump’s 2016 and 2020 bids — joined his 2024 presidential campaign in 2023 as the operation was starting to build out its team based in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Miller left his role as the CEO of , which “a right-wing social media site that was developed to rival (X, formerly known as Twitter,) but was often overshadowed by Trump’s own platform, Truth Social.”

Miller served as Trump’s spokesperson after his administration ended in 2021. But he left that gig to launch GETTR.

Contributing: Charlie Harger, ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on , or email him here.