Trump vs. Harris debate produces its share of winners and losers

Zac Anderson, USA TODAY
·5 min read

Kamala Harris was the biggest winner on Tuesday night as she delivered a forceful performance in her debate with Donald Trump, but it also was a good night for Democratic party leaders who helped engineer her campaign and the ABC News debate moderators.

Trump, meanwhile, found himself constantly on the defensive and struggling to rebut Harris. President Joe Biden also came in for plenty of criticism, as did the now infamous Project 2025 by the Heritage Foundation.

Here is a list of winners and losers from the matchup between Trump and Harris in Philadelphia.

Winners

Kamala Harris

Harris came into the debate trying to get under Trump’s skin, and she often succeeded. She prompted angry responses from him on everything from his rally crowds to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The debate largely was fought on ground chosen by Harris, with the vice president repeatedly baiting Trump into prickly rebuttals of her critiques on his record. Harris was under pressure to prove she could perform on the biggest stage. She delivered a poised performance that could help extend the early energy around her campaign. She also ended the night securing perhaps the most prized celebrity endorsement of 2024: Taylor Swift.

Aug 21, 2024; Chicago, IL, USA; Former Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is seen in a hallway at the end of the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Megan Smith-USA TODAY
Aug 21, 2024; Chicago, IL, USA; Former Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is seen in a hallway at the end of the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Megan Smith-USA TODAY

Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leaders

Pushing Biden out of the presidential race was a painful, awkward and difficult process for Democrats that risked dividing the party for an uncertain payoff. Harris’ performance offered validation that the pain was worth it for Democrats to get a candidate who could deliver a much more forceful and coherent message than Biden. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was a driving force in that process, and now looks prescient, as do other Democratic leaders in the House and Senate who kept the pressure on Biden.

Members of the ABC television crew, including moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, pose for photos following a presidential debate hosted by ABC between Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, and Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 10, 2024. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Debate moderators

Fact checking a debate in real time isn’t easy. ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis handled it deftly, offering calm but forceful corrections to Trump’s claims about abortion, crime and immigrants without being overly combative and disrupting the flow of the contest. Trump is a challenge for any debate moderator, and some partisans may be upset that he was repeatedly fact checked. But Muir and Davis ensured their millions of viewers received accurate information.

Abortion rights activists gather at the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2024, to mark the second anniversary of the court overturning Roe v. Wade.
Abortion rights activists gather at the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2024, to mark the second anniversary of the court overturning Roe v. Wade.

Policy discussions

There were big questions about how much Trump would stick to policy, and whether he could avoid personal attacks on Harris. But there was plenty of substance in this debate. Trump didn’t even bite when the debate moderator asked about his previous comments questioning Harris’ racial identity, avoiding the question. Instead, the debate probed the candidates’ views on everything from abortion to economic policy and foreign affairs. Trump touted his policy proposals related to tariffs, tax cuts and immigration. Harris called for restoring the abortion protections once enshrined in the now-overturned Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision. There wasn’t much that was new for those who have been closely watching the campaign, but it could help define the candidates for anyone who hasn’t been paying close attention to the race.

Losers

Trump

Ever since Harris entered the race, Trump has been under pressure from his own allies to stay focused on policies and not delve into personal attacks. In particular, Republicans believe Harris is deeply vulnerable on the economy and inflation. Trump tried to hit on his favorite themes of the economy and immigration Tuesday, but often found himself veering off message and responding to Harris’ criticisms. He was on the defensive throughout the debate, with long stretches devoted to him rebutting Harris’ comments about his rallies, his response to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, how he is viewed by foreign leaders and other critiques. Trump’s responses were angry, rambling and went on tangents that took him far off course from favorable political ground.

President Joe Biden laughs with South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball coach Dawn Staley while honoring the team for winning the 2023-2024 NCAA championship during an event at the White House.
President Joe Biden laughs with South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball coach Dawn Staley while honoring the team for winning the 2023-2024 NCAA championship during an event at the White House.

Joe Biden

The lame duck president who dropped his reelection bid under pressure from Democrats continues to be an object of scorn from Republicans and Trump, who blasted his record on the debate stage. Although Harris often defended aspects of the Biden administration’s record, she also tried to distance herself from him as polls continue to show low approval ratings for his economic stewardship and other issues. “Remember this, she is Biden,” Trump said at one point, prompting Harris to declare: “Clearly I am not Joe Biden, and I am certainly not Donald Trump.” Harris pivoted to touting her own policy proposals as she tried to separate herself from Biden.

Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Malcolm Kenyatta holds a "project 2025" book while speaking during Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Malcolm Kenyatta holds a "project 2025" book while speaking during Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Heritage Foundation and Project 2025

The preeminent conservative think tank has become a preeminent pain in Trump’s behind this election cycle after laying out a bunch of policy ideas for a second Trump administration that could give many voters pause. The proposal calls for aggressively overhauling the federal government, including making it easier to fire civil servants and eliminating the Departments of Education and and Commerce. It also suggests banning pornography and says marriage should be “biblically based,” which could target same-sex marriage. Harris mentioned Project 2025 early in the debate, prompting Trump to disavow it, as he has in the past. “I have nothing to do with Project 2025,” he said. Yet many individuals close to Trump had key roles in creating the plan.

An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump riot in front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021. Reuters photographer Leah Millis: "Thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump, a Republican, stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in a failed attempt to overturn the recent election and prevent Joe Biden, a Democrat, from becoming the next president. It was the worst attack on the seat of the U.S. government since the War of 1812. I arrived at the west side of the U.S. Capitol before the Trump supporters overwhelmed police lines, and I documented the chaos that ensued for the next seven hours. At one point I heard the crowd chanting "heave-ho" and thought they must be breaking in through the doors. I didn't want to risk getting crushed or injured by the massive crowd, which was hostile toward members of the media and had already assaulted several of my colleagues that day. I chose to risk climbing some scaffolding that had been erected for the upcoming inauguration to give me a better view. The Capitol had already been breached via different entrances, but the fight for this entrance went on for hours. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the mob of Trump supporters and in the process multiple officers were severely injured. Four people would die that day and a police officer attacked by protesters died the next day. Four officers later took their own lives. Eventually, law enforcement was able to successfully push the crowd back. At 5:04 p.m. to disperse the remaining protesters, they used a flash-bang grenade, which released a blinding light that illuminated the U.S. Capitol building. To me, the explosion of the grenade captured the violence and shock of the day: American citizens attacking and breaching their own country's Capitol building. The haunting sight of the American flag flying above the entire scene, casting a shadow onto

Election deniers

After long saying the 2020 election was stolen, Trump has attracted attention and criticism from his right flank in recent weeks for comments suggesting otherwise. He recently said he “lost by a whisker.” Asked about that Tuesday, Trump claimed he was being sarcastic and continued to claim there were problems with the election, falsely stating “there’s so much proof.” But even Trump didn’t say to have the heart for an extended defense of his election fraud claims. “You know what that doesn’t matter because we have to solve the problem that we have right now,” Trump said. “That's old news.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump-Harris debate: Who won? Who lost?

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next