On Tuesday, presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump met for the first time on the debate stage, for a debate hosted by ABC. In a series of surveys, we gauged reactions among registered voters in the debate's immediate aftermath, finding that most who saw the debate view Harris as the victor.
Harris is seen as having laid out a clearer plan for her presidency than Trump, while Trump is likelier to be seen as telling more lies than Harris. Most Republicans think the debate moderators — whom few were familiar with prior to the debate — were biased in favor of Harris; most Democrats think they were fair. One question asked about Taylor Swift's endorsement of Harris just after the debate; most voters expect it will help Harris' campaign.
Two-thirds of registered voters say they watched at least some of the Harris-Trump debate on Tuesday, September 10. Nearly half say they watched all or most of it. A similar share said they watched the debate between Biden and Trump on June 27.
Among registered voters who watched at least some of the debate, 54% think that Harris was the winner, while 31% say Trump was. The vast majority of Democratic voters who watched — 90% — say Harris won, while 68% of Republicans think Trump did. Independents are more likely to believe Harris was the winner, by 53% to 25%.
A survey just after Biden's and Trump's debate earlier this summer found that 49% of voters who watched at least some of it thought Trump had won, while 31% thought Biden had.
During Tuesday's debate, more voters think that Harris (46%) laid out a clearer plan for what she'd do if elected than think Trump did (32%). A somewhat greater share of registered Democrats (84%) think their candidate had a clearer plan than the share of registered Republicans who think their candidate did (69%).
More registered voters see Trump as having told more lies or exaggerations during the debate than Harris than say Harris told more lies (48% vs. 33%). 76% of registered Democrats think Trump was more untruthful during the debate, while only 15% of registered Republicans do; 64% say Harris was.
Voters generally thought that Harris spent more time during the debate explaining what she'd do if elected (42%) rather than attacking her opponent (35%). The opposite is true for Trump: 52% think he spent more time on the attack, while 28% think he was focused on explaining his plans.
Overall, 43% of registered voters say moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis were fair and unbiased, while 29% say they were biased in favor of Harris and 4% say they were biased in favor of Trump. Most registered Democrats (71%) say the moderators were unbiased; only 18% of registered Republicans agree while 55% say the moderators were biased in favor of Harris.
Just after the debate, Taylor Swift announced her endorsement of Harris in a post on Instagram. Most voters (54%) think Swift's endorsement will help Harris' campaign at least a little while only 4% think it will hurt the campaign; 24% think it will have no effect, and 17% are not sure. Democratic voters are more confident than Republicans and Independents that Swift's endorsement will benefit Harris.
Related:
- How Americans expect Harris and Trump to perform in their first debate
- Kamala Harris holds a narrow lead over Donald Trump in YouGov's first MRP estimates of the 2024 presidential election
- Kamala Harris leads in four of seven swing states in the latest Times/SAY24 polling
- How views of Biden and Trump changed after the first debate
- Snap post-debate poll: 30% of Democrats say 'someone else' would be a stronger candidate than Biden
- 2024 presidential debates: Voters' preferences for topics and format
- In 2024, what’s the most popular Taylor Swift album among her American fans?
Methodology: This article includes results from three Daily Questions surveys. The first was conducted online on September 10 - 11, 2024 (shortly after the conclusion of the debate) among 3,378 U.S. adults. A second was conducted September 11, 2024 among 3,326 U.S. adults. A third was conducted on September 11 among 4,585 U.S. adults. The samples were weighted according to gender, age, race, education, U.S. census region, and political party. The margin of error for each survey is approximately 2%.
See the results for the polls conducted after the debate:
- Did you watch Tuesday’s debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on ABC?
- Regardless of which presidential candidate you prefer, who do you think won the debate?
- Regardless of which candidate you prefer, who do you think is most fit to be president for the next four years?
- As far as you know, were the moderators of Tuesday's presidential debate...?
- Regardless of which candidate you prefer, who do you think laid out a clearer plan for what they will do if elected during Tuesday’s debate?
- Regardless of which candidate you prefer, who do you think told more lies or exaggerations during Tuesday’s debate?
- During Tuesday’s debate, do you think Kamala Harris spent more time…?
- During Tuesday’s debate, do you think Donald Trump spent more time…?
- Taylor Swift recently endorsed Kamala Harris for president. Do you think her endorsement will help or hurt Harris’ campaign?
Image: Getty
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