American voters broadly agree that Vice President Kamala Harris outperformed Donald Trump during Tuesday's presidential debate, according to a CNN poll of debate watchers conducted by SSRS, an independent research firm.
Viewers of the debate voted in favour of Harris, 63% to 37%, saying she performed better. Prior to the debate, a poll by The New York Times and Siena College had shown both candidates were neck-and-neck in the race. Afterward, 96% of Harris supporters who watched the debate said that their candidate had done a better job, while only 69% of Trump supporters said he did better.
The Democrat candidate is said to have baited her opponent into angry responses on issues ranging from abortion to foreign policy. Mr Trump said afterwards that this was his "best debate", contrary to what the flash polls have shown. Ms Harris’ campaign has challenged him for a second debate in October.
This marks a major shift from June's debate when President Joe Biden was in the running. Back then, polls indicated, 67% to 33%, that Mr Trump outperformed his rival.
However, these polls only represent the views of the debate watching public and not the overall views of the full voting public.
Post the debate, the 59-year-old vice president also earned the endorsement of pop star Taylor Swift.
Viewers of the debate were closely divided over which candidate understands their problems better, with 44% saying Ms Harris does and 40% voting for Mr Trump. On the other hand, debate watchers also gave Mr Trump a 23-point advantage over who they think will handle immigration and the role of commander-in-chief better. They gave Ms Harris a 9-point edge on protecting democracy and abortion rights, the flash poll showed.
