Debate Post-Mortem: Trump Was Trump, Harris Held Up, And Moderators Played Partisan Tricks

The initial reaction to last night’s debate was that Trump was Trump, the moderators became debaters, and Harris, while nervous and rehearsed, didn’t crash and burn – leading to an initial kneejerk in the betting markets favoring the Vice President’s odds in November.

Bettors on @Polymarket saw this debate as an out-performance for Kamala
* Trump went from +7 to even odds
* 97% chance Kamala won debate according to polls (74% before debate)
* Kamala up 3% to win popular vote

No major gaffes or terrible moments for Harris pic.twitter.com/8cGAJN07MM

— Nikolai Yakovenko (@ivan_bezdomny) September 11, 2024

While some conservative sites have called the debate for Trump, along with speaker Mike Johnson…

Mike Johnson on Fox Business insists Trump actually won the debate, citing polls from Newsmax and the Daily Caller (sounds legit) pic.twitter.com/NXzLihRTpx

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 11, 2024

…most on the left are celebrating – with Punchbowl News writing that “Tuesday night’s debate couldn’t have gone better for Harris.”

Politico writes: “Trump’s Improv Stood No Chance Against Harris’ Coached Attacks.”

Harris’ strategy in her first debate as a presidential nominee was custom-tailored for one specific moment and one specific opponent. She plainly used her long days of debate prep in a Pittsburgh hotel to compile a rich anthology of taunts, putdowns and derisive one-liners against former President Donald Trump.

Of course, Trump was in a 3-on-1 debate:

This clip may be the most egregious example of ABC debate moderators’ direct actions/inactions to affect viewers’ perceptions of the information presented at the debate.

There are at least seven instances of this within a two-minute span.

This is not “bias.”

It’s much worse.… pic.twitter.com/tYJhZwGwdW

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) September 11, 2024

And Harris was allowed to get away with murder:

Last night Kamala lied and said she wouldn’t take away your guns despite evidence of her saying otherwise. She did not get fact checked by ABC moderator David Muir. https://t.co/7JKIrEGgXe

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 11, 2024

In fact, here are the ‘top 5 lies’ that ABC News moderators failed to fact-check via Collin Rugg:

1. Mandatory Firearm Buybacks:

Kamala Harris told Trump to “stop lying” about her wanting to confiscate firearms. Harris has previously stated multiple times that she wants to launch a mandatory buyback program.

The ABC moderators said nothing.

2. “Fine People” Hoax:

Kamala Harris claimed Trump called neo-N*zi’s “very fine people.” This hoax was debunked by Snopes but the ABC moderators let it slide.

The ABC moderators said nothing.

3. Post-Birth Abortion:

Trump claimed babies were ‘k*lled’ outside the womb in failed abortions. Under Tim Walz, babies born alive in botched abortions are allowed to be left to d*e.

Eight babies who survived abortions in Minnesota were abandoned and sadly perished under Walz.

The ABC moderators simply said Trump was lying and moved on without adding context.

4. Defund the Police:

Kamala Harris laughed when Trump said she wanted to defund the police. During a previous interview, Harris said having more cops on the street is “wrong.”

She also supported taking police officers out of schools.

The ABC moderators said nothing.

5. Bloodbath Hoax:

Kamala Harris claimed Trump said there would be a bl**dbath if he is not elected, insinuating that his supporters would start k*lling people.

This is completely false. The comment was made during a rally where Trump said there would be a “bl**dbath” for the American auto industry if he is not elected.

The ABC moderators said nothing.

Top 5 lies that the ABC News moderators refused to fact-check or falsely fact-checked during the debate:

1. Mandatory Firearm Buybacks:

Kamala Harris told Trump to “stop lying” about her wanting to confiscate firearms. Harris has previously stated multiple times that she wants… pic.twitter.com/6aXznDnq7O

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 11, 2024

While Goldman notes that the debate “seems to have gone in favor of Harris judging by betting markets and the reaction in assets overnight.,” ING suggest a ‘wait and see’ approach, writing this AM: “Markets may want to wait on new opinion polls in the coming days to take more decisive positions on the election,” adding “For now, indications that Harris won this debate, even if by a small margin, can keep a lid on the dollar.”

That said, according to Reuters, 70% of an admittedly small polling group of undecided voters said they would either vote for Trump, or were leaning towards backing him.

Meanwhile, the media is already starting to lie and gaslight. For starter’s the New Yorker‘s Susan Glasser has never heard of Harris’ plan that would support taxpayer-funded gender care and transition surgeries for detained illegal aliens.

Trump made history last night for sure. Who will ever forget him ranting on stage about immigrants eating people’s dogs? Or insisting that the Vice President ‘wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in jail’?

My piece on Trump’s too-crazy moment:…

— Susan Glasser (@sbg1) September 11, 2024

Except it’s true, and CNN even covered it:

Apparently, @sbg1 and fact checkers at the @NewYorker have not heard of this news outlet called CNN.

Gaslight much? https://t.co/b1NCH29c3v pic.twitter.com/EtOu19RAxy

— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) September 11, 2024

Many are saying this won’t move the needle much in either direction.

My debate analysis won’t make anyone happy. I think Kamala was weak and nervous, especially early. She came off as phony and rehearsed the rest of the way. But Trump missed a lot of opportunities to land a blow, rambled too much, and took the bait repeatedly throughout. I don’t…

— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) September 11, 2024

Of course Harris wants a 2nd debate…

That said, as ZeroHedge friend and contributor “Quoth the Raven” suggests, the debate will backfire for both Harris and ABC…

After last night, when the average critically thinking, independent or moderate voter begins to emerge from the visceral reaction of who “won” the debate, the picture will start to come into focus. And it’ll be a picture of a news network that constantly tried to fact-check Donald Trump, despite Kamala Harris repeating multiple debunked conspiracy theories, like Trump’s Charlottesville comments, which were already debunked by Snopes, and his “bloodbath” comment, which was used in the context of talking about the auto industry.

…

More people know today that the left-leaning media has a narrative and lies to them than ever before. This debate will be different from other ones because it’ll eventually be looked at in that context. And when people go back and watch how the moderators constantly argued the merits with Trump while leading Harris in her answers to multiple questions, this debate will be revealed for the biased farce that it was. And then — mark my words — it will do more harm than good for Kamala Harris.

the #debate in a nutshell pic.twitter.com/yDOPL5wVSL

— Skscartoon (@skscartoon) September 11, 2024