There is much discussion about who won Tuesday’s presidential debate both stylistically and substantively.
But ultimately, it’s not the person who “wins” – the person who makes the funniest faces or has the best line. It’s the person who can win over the undecided and the independent.
The problem for Kamala Harris is that, unlike President Donald Trump, she felt the need to define herself. What independent voters wanted to hear was how Harris was different from Joe Biden, whose policies they didn’t like, and what her policies were for the future.
As I noted in some of my previous articles about people in CBS and Reuters focus groups, voters didn’t feel they were getting those answers. CNN also found that Trump actually gained points on the issue most vital to people: He was ahead by 20 points on the economy, 23 points on immigration and six points on leadership as commander in chief.
Reuters focus group delivers bad debate news for Kamala Harris
– and it’s all their own fault
CNN poll: Trump beats Harris on most vital issue for American people
WATCH: CBS Focus Group Members Leak the Truth About Kamala Harris
Although ABC did a terrible job with its biased anchors, even ABC reporters said they failed to provide these answers.
ABC REACTS: “Kamala Harris did not explain her policies well today.” pic.twitter.com/e14JfR87G1
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) 11 September 2024
Another noted that Harris did not even answer the question of whether people are better off than they were four years ago.
ABC NEWS: Kamala Harris was asked if she thinks Americans are better off today than they were four years ago. She did NOT ANSWERE the question. pic.twitter.com/7MTRfN4NT1
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) 11 September 2024
But one of the most engaging reports on independent voters came from Lee Carter, pollster and president of Maslansky + Partners, on Fox’s “The Faulkner Focus.” She used dial monitors to show voters’ reactions to Harris and Trump’s statements.
The focus group consisted of seven Democrats, five independents, and five Republicans, each represented by blue, yellow, and red lines. What was engaging, however, was how much the independents agreed with the Republicans.
When Trump spoke of rising crime rates caused by illegal immigrants, the yellow line monitoring the independent response rose dramatically in Trump’s favor, overlapping with the Republicans’ red line.
“I was really, really surprised because the intensity of independent support for Donald Trump was there and I didn’t expect it,” Carter said Wednesday on “The Faulkner Focus.”
“The independents are very much in line with Republicans. They’re looking for a few things. They’re looking for answers on immigration, they’re looking for answers on the economy. They want to hear that things are getting better for them, and they also want a change from what’s happening right now,” Carter continued. “One of the main things they wanted from Kamala Harris last night was how she’s going to do things differently.”
You didn’t understand.
When Harris said Trump had no plan and only wanted to give tax breaks to the affluent, Republicans and independents disagreed, and both the red and yellow lines plummeted. They clearly didn’t believe her when she said economists had said her plan was better and Trump’s plan would lead to more inflation. That took a lot of cheek considering she herself had contributed to the record inflation.
Independents (yellow) trusted Trump much more than Kamala during the debate pic.twitter.com/p2OoKVK2hS
— Aaron Ginn (@aginnt) 12 September 2024
When Trump talked about it, the red and yellow lines went up, indicating that they liked what they heard about his plans for the economy. When he said Biden-Harris had destroyed the economy, people really agreed with him when he talked about the prices of bacon and eggs.
Even the independents didn’t believe what she said about fracking. Trump talked about her extreme positions on defunding the police, funding sex-change operations for illegal immigrants, rising crime, and even abortion. All of that was true. The most vital thing was his final message: Why hasn’t she done anything she says she’s going to do, even though she’s been in office for over three years?
Here is the full discussion,
