US media after the TV debate: Harris puts Trump on the defensive – Politics

Hardly anyone will dispute that the Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris made a better impression than Joe Biden during the TV debate in June. But did she also manage to make a better impression than her Republican challenger Donald Trump? The American media overwhelmingly agree: yes. Many write that the Democrat has often succeeded in putting Trump on the defensive.

According to a quick poll by the broadcaster CNN Immediately after the debate, 63 percent of respondents saw Harris as the winner, while 37 percent voted for Trump. The majority of undecided voters in the important swing state of Pennsylvania, where the debate took place, also saw the Democrat as having the advantage. Analysts at the network wrote that the night could hardly have gone better for Harris.

The New York Times The debate was therefore a continuous success for Harris. She was able to define herself and her plans and got Trump to show his true self, the newspaper writes. Harris repeatedly set traps for her opponent that the Republican presidential candidate readily fell into: Among other things, she got him to defend the crowds at his campaign events.

Former US President and Harris’s party colleague Barack Obama also praised the incumbent Vice President. Obama wrote on X that it was immediately clear in the debate who had the vision to move the country forward. Harris will be a president for all Americans. And the Democrat’s campaign team is also convinced of Harris’ performance – so convinced that they called on Trump to meet again immediately after the duel.

But there is also criticism of the moderators

Trump’s Vice President JD Vance, on the other hand, assessed the Republican’s performance positively. Trump responded very well to the contradictions in Harris’ statements, the senator from Ohio told CNN. The Democrat mainly came up with a lot of platitudes, so that Vance’s plans had no substance.

Trump also sees himself as the winner of the duel. It was his best debate so far, he said CNNHe has not yet said whether he would be willing to take part in another debate. Instead, the Republican presidential candidate attacked the moderators of the host broadcaster ABC, saying they were “very unfair.” It was basically three against one, said the Republican.

The conservative broadcaster Fox News and the Washington Times also criticized the moderators of the debate. She had clearly confronted Trump with false statements than Harris. The Vice President had therefore been able to get away with vague answers and refuted accusations against the Republican presidential candidates.

The most important reaction outside the political spectrum came from pop megastar Taylor Swift. The singer spoke out in support of Harris on Instagram immediately after the duel ended. Swift’s support is important for Harris, the singer is enormously popular in the USA and her fans are considered to be very loyal.

With material from the news agencies dpa and Reuters