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So, who really won the debate?

So, who really won the debate?

Following the debate between President Trump and Vice President Harris, Democrats and the left-leaning media went into gushing hyperbole.  They not only declared Harris the run-away winner but said that Trump had been crushed — defeated.  CNN’s Chirs Wallace declared Trump’s performance as worse than Biden’s in the debate that forced then President out of the race.

We saw that same giddy demeanor during the Democrat National Convention.  Despite all the hoopla and the high praise coming from the crony press, Harris did not get the anticipated “bump” from the convention.  In fact, Harris’ small lead in the polls began to shrink in some cases.

Based on the claims of the Democrat leadership – including Harris’ own claim – and the judgment and reporting from the biased media, the Vice President was the overwhelming winner in the Harris/Trump debate.  Some Democrats and pundits even declared the debate to have been a fatal blow to the Trump campaign.

It is true that Trump was not at the top of his game in that debate.  He could have done better – much better.  He was further compromised by some of the most biased moderating I have ever witnessed.  That means every debate since Nixon versus Kennedy. 

It is also true that Harris performed well – aided by biased moderating and her refusal to answer questions.  She stayed on script.

In my post-debate commentary, I offered several observations.  I gave both participants a “C” for their performance – style and substance.  I predicted that when the post-debate results were in – within a week or so of the debate — there would be virtually no change in voter preferences.  I called it a draw.

An ABC/Ipsos poll showed that 63 percent of Americans thought Harris won the debate.  But those are not the important numbers.  They are overly influenced by all the partisan media spin immediately following the debate.  The important numbers come in the polls in in the week or so after the debate – when the dust begins to  settle.

Weeell … MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough reported the more recent results of the ABC/Ipsos poll.  I found the results as interesting as Scarborough found them disappointing.  Prior to the debate, the ABC poll showed Harris with a 52 to 46 percent lead over Trump.  After the debate, the same poll showed Harris with a 52 to 46 percent lead over Trump.  No change at all. 

There will be other polls and both sides will call them good news.   What can be said at this time is that Harris did NOT get a bump from the debate.  All that partisan paise was for naught.

I never saw Harris as the winner – and said so at the time.  Since the entire purpose of a political debate is to improve a candidate’s support among voters, they determine the winner.  Not the politicians, the pundits or the press.

Harris did not win that debate … period.  All the partisan hyperbolic praise was just that.  According to the polls — the voters – there was no winner coming out of the debate – and no amount of partisan cheerleading can change that.

In a sense, all that praise heaped on Harris may have given a bit of an edge to Trump.  It created an expectation of a significant bump for Harris that did not happen.  She fell short of expectations and the hype.

As I have cautioned in the past, the polls are very close and have been regularly changing within the margin of error — and will continue to do so for the time being.  There may be a surge by one candidate over the other at some point, but that has not yet happened.  Despite the predictions and Harris hype, it did not happen after the Democrat convention, and it did not happen after the debate.

Unless there is another debate, there is nothing on the schedule that can be seen as a game changer.   It is all up to the trend lines, current and historic – specifically those in the battleground states.  That gives Trump an ever so slight edge among the pundits and the bettors.

So, there ‘tis.

About The Author

Larry Horist

So, there ‘tis… The opinions, perspectives and analyses of businessman, conservative writer and political strategist Larry Horist. Larry has an extensive background in economics and public policy. For more than 40 years, he ran his own Chicago based consulting firm. His clients included such conservative icons as Steve Forbes and Milton Friedman. He has served as a consultant to the Nixon White House and travelled the country as a spokesman for President Reagan’s economic reforms. Larry professional emphasis has been on civil rights and education. He was consultant to both the Chicago and the Detroit boards of education, the Educational Choice Foundation, the Chicago Teachers Academy and the Chicago Academy for the Performing Arts. Larry has testified as an expert witness before numerous legislative bodies, including the U. S. Congress, and has lectured at colleges and universities, including Harvard, Northwestern and DePaul. He served as Executive Director of the City Club of Chicago, where he led a successful two-year campaign to save the historic Chicago Theatre from the wrecking ball. Larry has been a guest on hundreds of public affairs talk shows, and hosted his own program, “Chicago In Sight,” on WIND radio. An award-winning debater, his insightful and sometimes controversial commentaries have appeared on the editorial pages of newspapers across the nation. He is praised by audiences for his style, substance and sense of humor. Larry retired from his consulting business to devote his time to writing. His books include a humorous look at collecting, “The Acrapulators’ Guide”, and a more serious history of the Democratic Party’s role in de facto institutional racism, “Who Put Blacks in That PLACE? -- The Long Sad History of the Democratic Party’s Oppression of Black Americans ... to This Day”. Larry currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida.

4 Comments

  1. Mike F

    Yet more BS Larry. Despite your narcissism, you are not expert in history, politics or communication skills. Kamala clearly won the debate, as virtually everyone (except Trump) has said, denying that makes you appear even more foolish than you actually are. Whether she benefited from the debate (by increasing polling numbers) is somewhat questionable, but that has nothing to do with win or lose the debate itself. There were some questions that Kamala didn’t answer, but my question to you would be-were there any questions that Trump answered (okay, there was one-are you now admitting that you lost in 2020-his answer was that he still believed he won…) You continue to support this ass of a person, believe that someone who stole classified documents from the WH, incited people to riot because he is too much of a narcissist to admit he lost, praises dictators, belittles our friends, has caused bomb threats because of his lies about Springfield Ohio (in simple words, he incited terrorism with his lies), has had 100’s of republican officials from past (and his) administrations come out against him and for Kamala. Your writing shows that you are a hopeless imbecile, who (yes) does hate democrats….

    • Dave P

      Bottom line is that Trump did not win the debate, but Harris did nothing to win it. She continues to avoid HOW to fix the problems. Tired of hearing of she was a middle class growing up with her mother. She will never fix price gouging on groceries, utility bills, etc. She has no policies and is AFRAID to really tell what she will do. Why do Billionaires, (Cuban, Winfrey, Clooney, Swift) all support her if they are going to lose a lot on her “policies”. Tell the fricken people in simple 1,2, 3 steps what you ARE going to do that you haven’t done in the last 3 1/2 years. She continues to lie about Trump tied to Project 2025. Do a real sit-down interview with real interviewers and an open, not bused in crowd with real hard questions. This is a protect “Joe Biden 2” tour. Trump and Vance at least get out and talk to the crowd. ABC did not fact check one question or force her to repeat her answer for more clarity. She is good friends with the ABC producer so I’m sure they either slipped her the questions through a 3rd party or made them more suitable for her platform. So, no Harris did not win this debate either.

  2. larry Horist

    Mike f … Do you get some sort of perverse satisfaction out of spewing childish insults? Since the goal of the debate is to win over voters, if that did not happen, she does win. Neither did Trump. You say getting voters has nothing to do with winning the debate. I beg to differ. If not votes, what did she win. Your personal praise and admiration??? LOL You rant like a guy who needs a little anger management therapy.

  3. Darren

    Actually the American public won the Debate!
    Kamala spewed her word Salads and the public was witness
    to words with NO meaningful answer.
    Trump spewed the same topic of the border wall.
    The answer is those in favor of Trump saw through the Word Salad.
    Those in favor of Kamala were not smart enough to see through a word salad.
    At least Joe Biden had a point somewhere in his rhetoric, good or bad for the country.
    This is clearly a school lesson of ( If you can not sell the people on fact, Dazzle them with Bull Shit )
    Trump at least had Fact!
    Kamala has billionaires backing her that all want a piece of power and authority in the United States.
    No different than Bush or the Clintons.
    Money can equal the perception of Intelligence.
    The reverse is not always the same.
    The house wives that watch TV do not know any better and are prayed upon.
    There is your excitement for Kamala.
    Right Oprah!