Harris’s Trump double Philippe Reines releases post-debate selfie

Tara Suter

11 September 2024 at 4:08 pm·2-min read

Philippe Reines, who helped prep Vice President Harris for Tuesday’s debate by playing former President Trump, posted a selfie on Wednesday showing his appearance as the mock-former president.

Reines, a former longtime aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said he needed a “spiritual cleanse” after portraying Trump in mock debates.

“to do: facial[,] haircut[,] spiritual cleanse,” Reines wrote on X in a post that included a photo of him in the close quarters of a small bathroom. Reines appeared to be wearing something that gave his face an orange complexion, and an undone red tie hung around his neck.

Reines also played Trump when Clinton was getting ready to go up against him in the 2016 presidential debates.

Following Clinton’s loss in the 2016 election, Reines has sometimes looked back on how he gets himself into character as Trump.

“To prepare myself for her grueling debate prep, I watched the 15 Republican primary debates and forums in which Trump participated three times each: once the whole way through; a second time focusing entirely on the exchanges he was part of; a third time with the sound off to watch his mannerisms and body language,” Reines said in a Politico piece from five years ago.

“I might know his debating style — if you want to call it that — better than anyone on the planet (aside from Hillary Clinton, of course).”

Reines’s post came after what many saw as a successful debate night for Harris. Sixty-three percent of registered voters in a CNN flash poll said Harris performed better on the debate stage, while only about 37 percent said the former president performed better.

“Philippe Reines is a loser who cosplays as President Trump because Trump Derangement Syndrome has corrupted his entire pathetic existence,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in an emailed statement to The Hill.

Story updated at 10:58 p.m. ET

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.

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