Who won the debate? I think it was Kamala Harris, but I would say that, wouldn't I?
But I really think she did. I was impressed by her fluent command of facts, many of them a bit obscure. Her delivery was excellent. She chose not to respond to much of Trump's blizzard of lies, which had me yelling at the TV but then immediately wondering if maybe it was the right thing to do. Perhaps constantly calling out Trump's lies as lies doesn't work well with the average viewer.
Trump, I thought, was angrier than usual, which is saying a lot. He was in a rage practically the entire time and his lies were relentless. Kamala will ban all your guns. Kamala wants to kill babies after birth. Kamala negotiated with Putin. Kamala let millions of criminals into the country and they're eating pets in Springfield. Kamala will ban fracking. Kamala hates Israel (and Arabs!). Kamala has sent America into decline.
David Muir, one of the moderators, pushed back on some of these things, which surprised me. It didn't slow down Trump, but it was still more real-time fact checking than I can ever recall in a debate.
Trump was a little more coherent than he was in the last debate. He flitted from subject to subject as usual, but most of the time his segues were at least decodable.
Harris relied on a strategy of relentlessly staying positive and selling her "opportunity economy" story. I wish she had pushed back more on Trump's falsehoods, but she did that only occasionally—partly because of the moderators. Whenever Harris attacked Trump, he insisted on an immediate response. But it seemed to me that they often didn't give Harris the same opportunity.
Harris spent a lot of time trying to convince viewers that Trump was an extremist nutcase—but without directly calling him a nutcase. I can't tell if that worked. I understood all her references, but I'm not sure if the average viewer did.
In the end, Harris projected vibes of confidence and energy. Trump's vibes were angry and defensive. That's probably the single most important takeaway.
Debate summary: "Clean up in aisle 4."
Jimmy Kimmel's expert panel reviews the debate,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9bqtlWphXA
Harris did well but my only comment is that Hillary beat Trump on content and character during their debates and he still won. Get out the vote!!!
I think it was mostly pundits saying Hillary won, based on such oldfashioned stuff like explaining policy. We're wiser now and know it's about trolling, and Harris still took him to the woodshed.
So, the good and the bad. The bad: the sorry times we live in. The good: Harris removed all doubt whether she's up to the presidency. Also, if I recall well, Hillary "won" slightly. Harris won hugely. Considering how many things she had to take into account, as a woman, a black and someone for whom it was the very first presidential debate, I think her performance was stellar.
I loved her new suit -- very presidential.
He did his usual crazy rambling. She stated a few facts and made a good argument for "turning the page".
It reminded me a bit of the primary when Veep Biden was arguing that he knew how to work with the Republicans, and she was saying she could be tough on them. I think we got the best of Pres. Biden, but she showed that the better way to deal with this particular brand of “Republican” is to be harsh with them, but also showing traditional Democratic leadership, for the nation, on issues, and with compassion for people.
The Biden presidency gave us good policies, but let the festering Trumpism continue. I think her approach may nail the coffin lid tight, so that we won't have to hear much more from the Trumpers.
It was a solid win for Harris and America.
Yes I've noticed men, in the political arena, cut short to coming to blows but VP Harris knows how to "serve a can of " whip ass" to #45. Something he's not used to nor received from many women in his lifetime.
As usual, TFN published the concerns/questions from undecided voters, who probably spend an hour in the catsup aisle deciding on a condiment.
I have never laughed so much during a presidential debate.
- "I have concepts of a plan [to replace the ACA]. Like what? Wait, I know what it is: Replace the ACA with something better, amirite?
- "They're eating the pets of the people living there...[I saw it on TV]." Wait, so not only are undocumented aliens being subjected to unwanted transgender surgery, but they're also eating pets? Was this a headline on the National Enquirer?
- "I didn't discuss [abortion bans] with JD...[and I don't mind if he has a different opinion]." Throwing JD under the bus again! Drink!
- "She is Biden." Immediately followed up by Harris, while laughing, "Clearly, I'm not Joe Biden."
- Kamala Harris: "And what you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom." In the split screen, just as she's saying this, he's nodding his head!
- Kamala Harris: "World leaders are laughing at Donald Trump." He lets out a big grin.
If people were skeptical of Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden, last night, she shattered that doubt, hammered it, vacuumed it, then dumped it on Trump.
Best debate, ever!
He saw it on t.v. Lol. What an idiot.
True, those (including TBH myself at times, even if I thought Harris was underestimated) who would have preferred an open convention are eating their words and humble pie too after this debate.
Here's the moment she won the debate,
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2c72266e-0e00-40d7-801d-f56bf2033e4a_3072x2048.avif
Absolutely! I'd forgotten that he's famously germaphobic and hates to do handshaking, needs to wetwipe the cooties away afterward. Not to mention *she* stalked *him* down to do it.
Good side-eye, too.
Did you see the 9-11 handshake? He tried his patented pull the person to him move and she pulled right back. She didn't let him dominate her like he usually does to people he shakes hands with. I also like how she beat him to the hand shake at the debate, getting to him before he even reached the podium.
Trump obviously has forgotten the little bit of manners he was taught. He ran from VP Harris upon entering the debate as she approached him with outstretched hand. Surely his advisors didn't tell him that was a wise thing to do. The voters saw that as more disrespect towards women. That cost you #45.
lol. What a mischievous grin! I'm sorry I didn't click on the link sooner. That made my day.
My takeaway is that Donald definitely switched from Just For Men Light Ash Brown to Just For Men Medium Ash Brown.
For anyone still wondering who won the debate: DJT stock is down more than 12% today and is trading at its lowest level all year.
Now you know who won the debate.
The more you respond to Trump's barrage of lies, the more you cede control of the debate to him. That's exactly what he wants and is one of the reasons he won't stop lying.
I think she did it just right -- a mix of presenting her optimistic vision and goading him into an incoherent rage. That put her in control and allowed Trump to be the Trump he is at his rallies. I'm pretty sure a majority of voters don't like that Trump, and that is supported by the fact that even a large number of Republicans thought he lost bigly.