Who won the presidential debate? Kamala Harris ‘made a strong showing,’ Donald Trump ‘correctly held her accountable’

The first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and perhaps the only one, ended after several big moments. Harris was seen frequently smiling throughout the debate, while Trump kept his expression more neutral. The veep was also notably more expressive with her hands.

The pair appeared together on the debate stage on Tuesday, September 10, to discuss various issues. Political experts have now begun to declare who in their eyes was the winner.

‘President Trump delivered a powerful America First message’

According to House GOP conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik, Trump is the winner. “President Trump delivered a powerful America First message directly to the American people focusing on reining in inflation and strengthening our economy, securing our border, and peace through strength foreign policy," said Stefanik, according to New York Post.

"Kamala Harris tried to hide from her radical record supporting banning fracking, raising taxes, defunding the police, and opening the border, but President Donald Trump correctly held her accountable for failed Kamalanomics fueling inflation, her role as Joe Biden’s open border czar, and her weakness on the world stage," she continued.

She added, "The ABC moderators were not journalists, they were pro-Kamala activists who baselessly attacked President Trump leading to a 3 on 1 debate, while allowing Kamala to lie repeatedly. President Trump won overwhelmingly and will win again on Election Day.“

Retired teacher Ron Gregrich also believes Trump won the debate. "Kamala looks glamorous" full of facial expressions, Gregrich said, while "Trump looks dour." "Trump has the amazing habit of repeating himself," he said.

"If people just read the transcripts, Trump would be winning," he added.

Gregrich said he believes the former president won on points of policy, but not visually.

‘She baited him — successfully’

Some commentators on Fox News said in post-debate comments that Harris clearly won. Fox political analyst Brit Hume said she was “well prepared, had answers” and called her “a different person” tonight. Hume suggested that Harris was able to derail Trump at various points.

“She baited him — successfully,” Hume said. “She came out ahead in this, in my opinion. No doubt.”

Hume said that Trump had a “bad night.” Echoing Hime’s thoughts, another commentator, Harold Ford Jr, said, “Tonight, she won.”

What are swing-state voters saying?

Meanwhile, The Washington Post asked a group of swing-state voters in real time who they thought won the debate – and they said it was Harris. “I don't think Trump was at his best — too rambly. He would have been better had he stayed calm and made more of an intentional effort to answer the questions. Harris made a strong showing. It's not clear that her words actually stand up to scrutiny, but she sounded confident and seemed to make sharp and effective attacks against Trump,” one voter said. “Harris knows what to say at the moment that gets under Trump’s skin,” one voter said, while another stated, “Trump was on defense. Harris stuck to her points, was coherent and frankly, more professional than I have ever seen her. Trump missed too many opportunities.”

One voter said, “Harris was prepared and ready for Trump. She answered the questions well and took this opportunity to show why she is a better candidate.” Another said, “I was leaning towards Harris before the debate and she made a good case for herself in her first real live event. Trump just seems to want to rely on fear-mongering and that doesn’t get real things done in people’s lives.”

Clear contrast of style, policy and vision

Northeastern University political experts said they noticed a clear contrast of style, policy and vision when the two candidates spoke. “Harris is clearly trying to channel authority, gravity and maturity — and I think she did that quite well,” says Martha Johnson, an associate professor of government at Northeastern, according to Northeastern Global News.

Nick Beauchamp, an associate professor of political science at Northeastern who maintains an election aggregator, believes the vice president’s strategy appeared to be twofold. “First, to differentiate herself from Trump, and second, to bait and anger him in order to provoke unappealing rants,” Beauchamp said.

Johnson said that the gender dynamics were clear from the onset. “The split screen and the angle of the camera works to Harris’ advantage,” Johnson said. “She is a short woman, and Trump is quite tall. Often in politics, height matters. With the split screen, they appeared to be the same height and size, increasing her gravitas.”

Johnson went on to say that Harris “downplayed any controversial positions” and “ tried to focus on a general message of stability, freedom and forward progress, with a focus on families, working class and small businesses.” “She has clearly prepared a series of topics she knows he is sensitive about, and kept these jibes coming even if they are not central to the audience’s concerns, because they provoke Trump into displaying his angry side,” Beauchamp added.

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