Kamala Harris is declared the winner over Trump in Daily Mail’s snap debate poll: Viewers give their verdict… and reveal whether the performances will change their votes
Kamala Harris was the clear winner of Tuesday night’s presidential debate, according to our snap poll of independent voters, who named her the most likely presidential candidate and Donald Trump the most aggressive.
About 49 percent said Harris performed the best, while 43 percent said Trump was the best.
However, an online poll of 800 independent voters found that the 90-minute debate was unlikely to have changed many people’s minds.
Harris added just two points to her overall support. While 36 percent said they planned to vote for Harris before the debate, that figure was 38 percent after the televised duel.
And Trump’s share of the vote rose from 44 percent to 45 percent, despite Harris and her supporters claiming victory.
The poll was conducted online by JL Partners on the evening of Tuesday, September 10, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent
The two candidates first met at the ABC News debate in Philadelphia, where they spent more than an hour and a half sparring over abortion, the economy and foreign policy.
Harris came up with a plan to throw Trump off his game, and she seemed to succeed. She generated the night’s most viral moment when she ridiculed Trump’s rallies, saying people were leaving early out of “exhaustion and boredom.”
He defended what he called the “most incredible rallies in the history of politics,” before repeating a remarkable online rumor about migrants eating pets.
“What an extreme fuss,” Harris said, laughing.
Trump again refused to acknowledge his 2020 election defeat, at times raising his voice as he personally attacked Harris.
The result of our poll was that independent viewers said she came across as the most presidential, beating Trump 49 percent to 43 percent.
And he was seen as by far the most aggressive, with 64 points to 25.
Still, on some key issues he performed as well as he did in June, when he confounded President Joe Biden.
Viewers thought he outperformed Harris on the economy, the border, foreign affairs and Israel, and tied with Harris on taxes. She won on abortion, health care and democracy.
Our panel of independent voters declared Vice President Kamala Harris the best performer that night, viewing her as more presidential than Donald Trump.
The debate made only a small difference in voting intention
It was his temperament and style that let him down. Viewers said Harris seemed more competent, mentally sharp, had an eye for detail, was the most sincere, the most cheerful and was the candidate who most represented change.
Trump was rated the weakest and most annoying, but also the funniest.
James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, which conducted the poll, said independents hold the keys to the White House and would have given Harris the win that night.
But it may take some time before the numbers reach the polls, as both parties try to influence the case to their own advantage and influence media reporting.
“This was not a knockout. The poll suggests that her performance still left Americans in the dark about the substance of her plans,” Johnson said.
‘And on this front, Trump took the lead in the same areas he did in June with Biden, like the economy, foreign affairs and the border.
“But she got her message across well, she misled Trump and she steered the issue away from her weakest points.”
Viewers thought Trump won on the key issues of the economy and the border
Harris saw a small increase in popularity, while Trump’s numbers remained largely unchanged
She was able to portray Trump primarily as aggressive and rude, he added.
“For all their support for Trump on this issue, independents have trouble with his temperament,” Johnson said.
“We will have to wait for the next polls to see what effect this has had electorally, and to find out whether this has already been factored into voters’ opinions of Trump or not.”
Both sides deploy their henchmen to claim victory in the spin room full of journalists.
“It was personally the best debate I’ve ever had,” Trump said.
The evening began with a handshake as Harris approached Trump’s lectern, but the debate quickly descended into personal attacks and accusations of lies.
Biden made his statement after the debate, declaring Harris the winner
Harris’ campaign quickly requested a second debate as a sign of confidence.
“Under the bright lights, the American people were shown the choice they face at the ballot box this fall: go forward with Kamala Harris, or go backward with Trump,” said Jen O’Malley Dillon, campaign manager.
The clash was a confrontation with many risks for both parties.
Trump has struggled to find momentum since Harris entered the race, but the Democratic nominee has also seen her honeymoon — with its huge fundraising numbers — evaporate in the past week.
The result is an election teetering on the brink of disaster.
According to the DailyMail.com/JL Partners election model, Trump has a narrow lead, with a 55 percent chance of victory.