When Ronald Reagan lost a debate in 1980, he grudgingly acknowledged that he’d performed poorly. When Barack Obama struggled in a 2012 debate, the Democrat joked about his performance on “The Tonight Show.” When Joe Biden fell far short in a debate a few months ago, he apologized to supporters.

When Donald Trump lost a debate last week, he responded in a more Trumpian way. The New York Times reported on the Republican candidate’s rally in Las Vegas late last week.

Over the course of an hour and 20 minutes, Mr. Trump ranted about the moderators of Tuesday’s debate. … And even as Mr. Trump continued to insist that he had been victorious in the debate — though some of his allies have acknowledged he had a rough outing — he accused Ms. Harris of wearing an earpiece in their matchup, a baseless claim that has proliferated on right-wing social media. And he said that Ms. Harris had obtained the questions in advance, an assertion for which there has been no proof.

This was, incidentally, a speech in which the GOP nominee was supposed to talk about the economy.

To be sure, Trump didn’t have to talk about the debate at all. He also could’ve shrugged off his failure, argued that debates aren’t important, or told a self-deprecating joke or two.

Instead, the Republican told his followers that he’d “heard” — from whom, he did not say — that Kamala Harris received the questions in advance (she did not) and wore an earpiece that allowed her to cheat (which is utterly false).

He added by way of his social media platform that ABC News is “now under investigation” (there is no such investigation).

The Washington Post’s Dan Balz — who hardly has a reputation for being a bomb-throwing ideologue — explained in a notable analysis, “Former president Donald Trump has long inhabited a bizarre world of his own creation. He rewrites history — or makes it up entirely — to aggrandize himself, denigrate others and spread the basest of lies. It keeps getting worse. Since Tuesday’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, he’s spiraled ever deeper into conspiracy theories, falsehoods and grievances.”

Despite all of this, NBC News reported that the Republican nominee left open the possibility of another debate with Harris, saying it might happen if he were in “the right mood.” Trump said that the day after issuing a written statement that said, in no uncertain terms, “THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!”

So, what’s likely to happen next? Watch this space.