Less than a month ago, the two top candidates in November’s presidential election faced off in their first and possibly only debate. While former President Donald Trump talked about the economic woes facing American families, Vice President Kamala Harris giggled dismissively. Then after nearly 15 minutes of landing blow after blow against the current administration’s failed policies on the economy and immigration, the tables started to turn. Trump was put on the defensive by both Harris and the moderators.
It was a hard night for both candidates. At the end of the evening, pundits declared Harris the winner, but polling shows voters were not convinced and the debate seemed to have little impact on the average voter. “It was all disappointing,” Sharon Reed, a swing voter in rural Pennsylvania, told the New York Times.
“She’s trying to get under his skin, and I think he’s doing a great job, but she’s being ugly,” said Lisa Bernhart, a Trump supporter in metro Atlanta. Post debate, Trump maintained a slight edge over Harris in Georgia.
The one clear loser of the evening was ABC news whose moderators drew immediate criticism for fact-checking former President Trump while allowing Vice President Harris to go unchecked. Some outlets even pointed out the inaccuracies in the moderators’ fact-checks of Trump, showing repeated instances where Trump was right and the moderators were wrong. CNN even falsely claimed Harris only made one error through the debate. ABC drew additional criticism for unashamedly taking special steps to favor Harris in the location and mitigate the height advantages of Trump.
With the Trump campaign announcing that September’s event would be the only, the focus has now shifted to the upcoming debate between the two parties’ vice presidential candidates, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance. Put on by CBS, the debate is set to take place this evening and is being hailed as an opportunity for both candidates to bring their message to the general public and sway swing voters in the upcoming election.
