The second and last US presidential debate concluded last night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The effect it will have on the election in November is being discussed by the pundits and the general public in America alike.
One thing is undeniable: Kamala Harris did a lot better against Donald Trump than Joe Biden did.
In fact, the same pollster who did the audience survey for the first debate, CNN/SSRS, found that she won by a similar margin (63–37) to what President Trump won by against President Biden back in June (67–33).
However, President Trump had a couple of things going for him to counter this narrative that President Biden did not have after the first debate.
For example, President Trump won a series of polls on the social media platform X which showed him as a winner. His social media team took screenshots of these polls and posted them to his Facebook page, which garnered over 100,000 likes within less than a day. One of them was also posted by CSPAN’s X page, a known and trusted political brand, which helps Trump’s case. After the first debate, public sentiment online turned heavily against Biden as well.
Additionally, the same CNN survey that showed him losing the debate by 26 points also found that viewers grew more confident in Trump’s ability to handle the economy over that of Vice President Harris.
ABC moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis took a more aggressive approach to President Trump than Jake Tapper and Dana Bash during the CNN debate in the summer. They stepped in to ‘fact-check’ President Trump multiple times, but they failed to do the same for Vice President Harris. This worked in favour of Vice President Harris in some way, but against her in other ways.
It did throw President Trump off at times, who now had to battle yet another conflict on stage, live in front of tens of millions watching. It may also have made him look dishonest to other viewers. However, it also displayed the mainstream media bias against him, which may have become apparent even to independent voters; and it provides a plausible excuse for his less convincing performance that Joe Biden never had after his debate disaster.
During the debate, President Trump also mentioned Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary’s vocal support for him again, something he has done often on the campaign trail.
We reached out to geopolitical analyst at the Center for Fundamental Rights Zoltán Koskovics for his assessment of the debate. This is what he had to say:
‘Despite the hostile environment, the Republican nominee stood up for his vision of America and poked several holes in Harris’s rehearsed talking points. Although Harris seemed scripted, avoiding direct answers to questions in favour of prepared and memorized responses, it was clear that she is a stronger candidate than Joe Biden used to be.
The presidential debates are among the most important moments of the campaign, where every second should be used by each candidate to maximize their eventual share of the vote. In this context, it is particularly noteworthy that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was quoted when President Trump argued that only he could provide the strong leadership needed to end the war in Ukraine. The Hungarian leader’s endorsement is clearly a major vote winner in the American election.
Most closely contested debates produce little fluctuation in the polls, as viewers turn off the television and retain the same opinion they started with. Trump supporters will undoubtedly stick with their candidate, as will Kamala Harris backers. Not much happened on this debate night that could help the undecided make up their minds, especially since they tend to settle on a candidate towards the end of October. As always, the ultimate decision is up to the American voters. What is different this year is that the future of the West hangs in the balance, with a devastating escalation in Ukraine a distinct possibility. Only Donald Trump offers a way out of this crisis.’
We also asked political scientist Hugo Martin of the Danube Institute if he believes this debate is enough for Vice President Harris to regain her momentum that started to wane in September.
‘Regardless of Trump’s performance, in my view, Harris’s momentum remains manifestly manufactured. Keep in mind she is a last-minute stand-in for Biden, hence the heavy-handedness from the Democratic establishment in promoting her. But just because her candidacy is cobbled together doesn’t mean the Republicans should underestimate her—as Trump’s perceived unpreparedness suggests they may have,’ he told our website.
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