Photo Credit: Reuters
How did it go for Donald Trump at Tuesday night’s debate?
As of this writing there appears to be very little new post-debate polling data that could shed light on that question, but some reports from the mainstream media suggest Trump did well with independent voters.
According to Debra Heine, a conservative reporter/blogger on AmericanGreatness.com, reporters from The New York Times and Reuters interviewed numerous undecided voters in the aftermath of the debate and found them tilting in Donald Trump’s direction.
Heine quoted the Times as reporting the view that Kamala Harris “did not seem much different from Mr. Biden, and they wanted change. And most of all, what they wanted to hear — and didn’t — was the fine print.”
One woman interviewed said, in reference to Kamala Harris, that “she didn’t, kind of, separate herself,” from President Biden, adding that she was “still on the fence.”
Keilah Miller, 34, a black woman who lives in Milwaukee, told the Times after the debate that, “she felt nudged unexpectedly toward Mr. Trump.”
“Trump’s pitch was a little more convincing than hers,” Ms. Miller said. “I guess I’m leaning more on his facts than her vision. When Trump was in office — not going to lie — I was living way better,” she explained. “I’ve never been so down as in the past four years. It’s been so hard for me.”
One Arizona voter who was leaning toward the Republican nominee said, “Trump had the more commanding presentation. There was nothing done by Harris that made me think she’s better. In any way.”
The same voter is said to have bristled at pundits who panned Mr. Trump’s performance. He wondered if they had watched the same debate as he did.
Heine cited a similar report from Reuters. “A group of undecided voters remained unconvinced that the Democratic vice president was the better candidate.” Out of ten undecided voters Reuters interviewed, six said after the debate that “they would now either vote for Trump or were leaning toward backing him.”
The economy and immigration remain the two major themes affecting independent voters’ assessment of the debate and of the overall race. According to Reuters, those favoring Trump said they trusted him more on the economy, that their personal financial situation had been better when he was president. Harris did not convince them she would pursue different economic policies than Democratic President Joe Biden, a Democrat they largely blame for the high cost of living.
According to the results of a flash poll conducted by CNN after the debate, significantly more people trust Trump with the economy, and that trust increased after the debate. Voters who tuned in gave Trump a 20-point advantage over Harris after the debate on handling the economy, 55% to 35% – a margin that’s slightly wider than his pre-debate edge.
Similarly, debate watchers also gave Trump a 23-point advantage over Harris when it came to whom they trusted to handle immigration.
