The very anticipated debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump took place on Tuesday, Sept. 10th on the ABC network. Millions of Americans are reflecting on what they heard from each candidate during the debate.
There are many opinions on who came out on top, but the majority of people think Kamala Harris was the clear winner, according to a CNN poll.
At the beginning of the night, Kamala Harris walked to Trump, shook his hand, and introduced herself. Throughout the debate, she seemed engaged and focused. Viewers saw her looking and talking to her opponent, who didn’t make eye contact with her.
Trump faced a much different opponent in this debate than he did in his previous debate with Joe Biden. Viewers saw Trump rattled by Harris’s comments on crowd size and Jan. 6th. He spent a lot of his time on defense and not much on his plan for the Presidency.
BBC correspondent Anthony Zurcher said, “Time and time again as the evening progressed, Harris put Trump on the defensive with jabs and barbs that he could have ignored but seemingly felt compelled to address.”
Polls taken by CNN after the debate said 63% of viewers thought Kamala Harris won and 37% thought Donald Trump won. Harris also had a shift in betting odds after the debate. Trump had been the favorite to win the presidency before the debate. Prior to the debate Harris had 50.9% of bets on her, and after, she had 54.4% of bets on her winning the election.
“It certainly felt like Kamala Harris was in control of tonight’s debate, and the betting public has reacted in unison,” said Josh Barton, a spokesperson for BetOnline.
Star Sports Political Betting Analyst William Dedjanyi said the debate was a “huge opportunity for Kamala Harris to regain the advantage in the US Presidential election, and that she “appears to have seized the moment.”
Something that could make Harris’s odds even better is the endorsement she got from Taylor Swift after the debate. The Swifties could have a big effect on the election. It has a loyal and powerful fan base.
Like most debates, this one was aimed at undecided voters in the middle. But Trump or Harris supporters were probably not swayed to change their minds by the performance of their candidate.
A married couple in Minnesota who voted opposite each other were not swayed to change their minds. Even though they both agreed that Harris won the debate, it was not enough to change the mind of the conservative voter, for now.
There are about six weeks left until the election. It does not look like Trump and Harris will have any more debates. The still undecided voters will have to follow the candidate’s campaign coverage to make their decision.
