I've been very upfront about how telling our readers just what they want to hear isn't smart. If you read my reactions to the debate on Tuesday night, you know I thought Trump didn't do as well as he should have. There's no reason to pretend otherwise. We won't win this election if we ignore reality. We shouldn't cherrypick polls based on their results or scream from the rooftops that Trump "won" the debate. Do I think Trump won the debate? No. That said, despite what the mainstream media wants you to believe, it wasn’t the resounding win for Kamala they’re making it out to be.
For example, Reuters interviewed ten undecided voters before and after a debate and found that six of them moved towards supporting Trump, while just three leaned toward Harris, and one remained uncertain.
Trump's performance may not have been great, but if undecideds were focusing on substance over style, then Trump gave them what they were looking for. Reuter's survey suggests that Harris needs to present more detailed policy proposals to sway undecided voters. Five voters found Harris vague on key issues such as improving the economy and addressing the cost of living, which are major concerns.
The debate was crucial for Harris, especially given a recent New York Times/Siena College poll showing that many voters feel they don’t know enough about her. And it sounds like she failed to do that with the voters who matter. On top of that, four of the six voters who shifted to Trump felt Harris did not offer distinct economic policies from those of President Joe Biden, whom they blame for the high cost of living.
This was not an isolated finding.
"Immediate reaction from political analysts favored Ms. Harris, whose attacks appeared to rattle Mr. Trump," reports the New York Times. "But not all voters, especially those undecided few who could sway the election, were effusive about the vice president’s performance."
In interviews, these undecided voters acknowledged that Ms. Harris seemed more presidential than Mr. Trump. And they said she laid out a sweeping vision to fix some of the country’s most stubborn problems.
But they also said she 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.
The report highlighted several challenges facing Kamala Harris as she struggles to connect with voters. For instance, Samira Ali, a University of Wisconsin-Madison student, remains undecided after the debate, particularly seeking more details on housing and inflation. Similarly, Gerald Mayes from Las Vegas felt confused about how the candidates’ promises would affect his family's budget. Keilah Miller, a former Democratic voter, leaned towards Trump after the debate, feeling his pitch was more convincing and reflecting on her better circumstances during Trump's presidency. Jason Henderson, a defense contractor, expressed disappointment in Harris’s debate performance, finding Trump’s presentation more commanding and feeling Harris lacked specific details on important issues.
Meanwhile, even CNN's own polling found Trump gained ground on the most important issue: the economy.
🚨 Holy smokes Trump gained 2 points on the economy among CNN viewers after they watched the debate.
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) September 11, 2024
LMFAO this is such a good sign. pic.twitter.com/XQXyIXr10N
A CNN focus group, which may have found that Kamala won the debate, "torched" her, according to Fox News columnist David Marcus.
PA VOTER: "We've had both of the candidates in office before and we've gotten to see what they'd do. When facts come to facts, my life was better when Trump was in office." pic.twitter.com/7v6sssTW0b
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 11, 2024
PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: "When I saw that we were leaving that amount of high-tech equipment in the hands of our enemy — and later that week I saw them celebrating with our guns in their hands — I realized what a travesty that was." pic.twitter.com/G1jK8szO0m
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 11, 2024
A CBS News focus group wasn't much kinder.
PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: President Trump "spoke facts" — while Kamala just "repeated everything that Biden has said in the past." pic.twitter.com/YvnvExVPXk
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 11, 2024
Related: It Looks Like Trump May Have Helped Himself in the Debate
Even MSNBC couldn't help but find voters weren't pleased by Kamala's answers.
ARIZONA VOTER: We've lost American citizens because of how many illegals Kamala Harris has let in.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 11, 2024
"My family went through a long process to get here legally — so I feel that it's unfair for hundreds of thousands to get here without problems and for the federal government to… pic.twitter.com/ZFTl4ZdJ4U
As much as I wasn't happy with Trump's performance, to the voters who matter, it was Harris who came up short.
