UPDATES WITH ADDITIONAL DECK AND INFO FROM CNN POLL, ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND, OTHER SMALL EDITS
By Gizem Nisa Cebi
ISTANBUL (AA) - In the first and possibly only debate between US Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, rivals for the White House this fall, Harris emerged as the clear winner, according to American and international media outlets.
The Tuesday night debate, marked by personal attacks and sharp exchanges, saw Harris controlling the narrative, while Trump found himself on the defensive just weeks before Nov. 5, Election Day, outlets reported.
The way even undecided voters in focus groups watching the debate felt Harris performed better was clear, with The Washington Post reporting that many voters in all-important swing states – which could be won by either candidate – shifted in her favor after the debate, as she effectively "got under Trump’s skin" with deliberate provocations.
As US elections are won on a state-by-state basis and then an Electoral College vote, not by a national popular vote, swing states have an outsized importance in who emerges as winner.
The Post said voters "thought Harris performed better, regardless of how they plan to vote in November."
"She proved she was the opponent that (US President Joe) Biden did not have the capacity to be when he and Trump met, 75 days before, in the debate that killed the president’s candidacy," it also reported.
Weeks after his poor showing in that debate, Biden exited the race and endorsed Harris to succeed him, leading to the current contest between Harris of the Democratic Party and Trump of the Republicans.
A CNN poll done by SSRS found that registered voters who watched the debate believed Harris outperformed Trump, with 63% of debate watchers favoring her performance over Trump’s 37%.
Before the debate, voters were evenly split on who would perform better, but afterward, 96% of Harris supporters felt she had a stronger showing, compared to 69% of Trump’s supporters who believed the same for their candidate.
The poll also found that Harris exceeded their expectations.
- Harris ‘dominated from the start’
According to The New York Times, Harris "dominated the proceedings from nearly the start," setting traps for Trump, who "took the bait" repeatedly.
It added that Trump, who "found himself in a defensive crouch," spent much of the night re-litigating past grievances instead of delivering focused attacks on his opponent.
"For much of the debate, Ms. Harris expressed her feelings about Mr. Trump by letting her body language do the talking: putting her hand on her chin, laughing and pursing her lips with a puzzled look. Mr. Trump, who seemed intent on avoiding looking in Ms. Harris’s direction, expressed his feelings by yelling into the microphone," it observed.
The New Yorker magazine echoed this sentiment, calling Trump’s performance "really, really bad."
The magazine highlighted Harris's tactic of baiting Trump, saying "her opponent will always take the bait," causing him to veer off-topic and lose composure.
"Trump was so unprepared for the debate that even he himself did not seem to know what he was saying at times," it said.
Britain’s The Guardian described Trump as failing to "clear the low bar" set for him, while Harris "repeatedly named him selfish, dishonest, and weak," causing him to explode in frustration.
Her attacks reportedly hit Trump hardest on issues of ego and strength, leaving him "bellowing and ranting," said the daily.
An expert in psychoanalysis “described Harris’s tactics as a ‘symbolic castration.’ Trump reacted almost as if it were the real thing," The Guardian added.
According to CNN, Trump "took every bit" of Harris’s bait, reacting loudly to her jabs, while Harris maintained control through calm expressions, smirks, and silence, underscoring her confidence throughout the night.
"Trump was often out of control. He loudly and repeatedly insisted that a whole host of falsehoods were true," it highlighted.
Time magazine underscored Harris’s calculated composure, observing that while Trump was "crabby and thin-skinned," Harris "bided her time" and let Trump fall into her traps, describing her as "poised" and "prepared" in her strategy.
"While Trump spoke dismissively of Harris, she systematically dismantled his rhetoric," it commented.
"Harris understood exactly what she had done: in inviting Trump’s ego to overtake actual issues, she was showing his pettiness in full display. And, for millions of voters watching Harris in such an environment for the first time, it’s impossible to imagine a better first showing."
Vice presidential candidates Senator JD Vance of the Republicans and Democrat Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, are due to hold their own debate on Oct. 1, but there are no more scheduled debates between Trump and Harris.
After Tuesday's debate, Harris' team said she was ready to debate again, but Trump's team has so far not signaled whether he is also willing.