A panel of campaign strategists and election analysts who watched Tuesday night’s feisty debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris had different takes on the night’s festivities — but did agree on one thing when they spoke to The Post: That Harris had outperformed her boss, President Biden.
Rob Ryan, Republican consultant
“Much like Joe Biden in the last debate, Vice President Harris had a bad makeup job. Her face looked washed-out, while Trump had color and looked far younger than his 78 years.
“Trump gets an B+ for his disciplined demeanor. For the most part he didn’t bite when taunted by Harris, except when she brought up his rallies.
“Harris had good debate coaching and was well-practiced. She pivoted from the question asked, talking about whatever topic she wanted, never really answering the question.
“Height of Hypocrisy Award goes to Harris for bragging about Dick Cheney’s endorsement.
“Harris was also weak on specifics and heavy on ‘happy talk.’ She never answered questions about why she changed positions on numerous issues, such as fracking. Her closing statement was also very weak.
“Trump’s closing statement was strong and hit home by asking, ‘Why hasn’t she done it?’”
“The moderators get a D for not fact-checking Harris the way they did Trump.
“Debate was a draw. Nobody’s opinions were changed.”
O’Brien “OB” Murray, campaign strategist
“This debate is a perfect example of the phrase ‘it’s not the win but the spin.’
“Harris took command from the beginning. She initiated the handshake. She went over to Trump.
“He scored by attacking Joe Biden. When he attacked Joe Biden, Harris didn’t defend him or their record.
“Trump won the immigration argument, but he could have done better. He should have just said, ‘Immigration wasn’t a problem when I was in charge. It’s a problem when you’re in charge.’
“Harris did score points talking about the Jan. 6 riot. That is an issue with some swing voters, but she may have taken too long to reach them. Did they watch the entire debate?
“Ultimately, this debate showed the country we need more debates between these two.”
Hank Sheinkopf, Democratic consultant
“Harris won it on points. She was concise, to the point, and came across as presidential.
“Trump came across as Jack the Ripper. The split-screen made him look particularly bad; it was his scowl versus her smile and his vitriol was not helpful.
“One of Trump’s best moments was attacking Harris-Biden on the Afghanistan withdrawal. She couldn’t defend it.
“Trump also won the immigration argument. Americans are not happy about the migrants, period. People are so upset with the border crisis that Trump’s argument that migrants are taking jobs from blacks and Latinos works: ‘You can go to America, steal a job and eat a pet.’
“Harris beat Trump cleanly on the abortion issue by making it about women’s health. She also baited Trump over his rallies and hooked him.
“I don’t think Trump saying Harris ‘hates Israel’ worked, since she voted to fund Israel time and time again [as a senator].
“They both scored some points, but I think Trump lost some independent voters who might have been leaning his way.”
Doug Muzzio, retired Baruch College public affairs professor
“Harris wiped the floor with Trump. She was focused, she was articulate, she was upbeat. Trump was rambling and showed evidence of cognitive decline. He jumped from topic to topic, talking about people eating dogs and cats.
“Harris’ best moment was her discussion of abortion. It was passionate and it was factual.
“Trump was an angry old man. Harris was more logical. She came across as more capable than Joe Biden and improved her standing based on her performance.”
Chris Coffey, consultant, former aide to Mike Bloomberg
“Trump’s focus on people eating dogs sounds like it came from Robert Kennedy’s brain worm.
“Harris laid an obvious trap, making fun of Trump’s rallies, and he walked right into it — as you’d expect from a narcissist.
“The biggest winner tonight was Nancy Pelosi and the Dems that helped make sure Kamala was the one on the stage to deliver a sustained, strong message all night.
“It’s hard to bring genuine passion at debates, but Harris did exactly that when discussing reproductive rights.
“Trump sounded like a walking Russia-funded YouTube channel. He missed any chance to win on bread and butter issues.
“We learned from the last debate that the split-screen matters. Kamala looked like the future and Trump looked like the past.”
