TUESDAY night’s vice presidential showdown has left the race for the White House as close as ever, with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in a dead heat.
Harris and Trump are currently deadlocked at 46% each, according to a survey conducted by The U.S. Sun immediately after the debate.
7
Kamala Harris, right, shakes hands with former President Donald Trump during a presidential debate on September 10, 2024Credit: AFP or licensors
7
Kamala Harris hypes up the crowd at a campaign event on September 20, 2024Credit: AP:Associated Press
7
Donald Trump appears at a campaign event on September 23, 2024Credit: AP:Associated Press
7
Only 5% of Americans aren’t sure who they’ll vote for, and 2% aren’t planning to vote at all, with election day now just over 30 days away.
When given the option to explain their choices, one person wrote: “I was, until the last week, 100% voting for Trump, but as of right now, I think I am 80% Harris bound.”
They didn’t provide further explanation for the shift.
Other voters claimed the last few days had swayed them instead toward the Trump ticket.
“I wasn’t sure I was going to vote for President but now I am,” one wrote.
“Seeing the debate last night and how quickly Trump responded to the Hurricane Helene situation, I have decided to vote Trump/Vance.”
Even though the US is just over a month away from the polls, some voters insist their minds are not yet completely made up.
“I might change my vote or plan this election season if I come across new information that significantly alters my views on key issues,” one wrote.
“I would change my vote only if the person would actually do something with the immigration problem,” argued another voter.
Immigration sparked one of the most heated moments in Tuesday’s debate between Vice Presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz.
JD Vance ‘smashed’ vice presidential debate and Walz look like a ‘fool’ says expert
By comparison, after Trump and Harris faced off in their first prime-time meeting on September 10, polling by The U.S. Sun revealed Americans favored Harris by four percentage points.
Harris was largely declared the winner of that debate by commentators – and 51% of viewers agreed, according to The U.S. Sun’s poll.
The latest polls, conducted in collaboration with Talker Research, come after the VP showdown featured a solid performance by Ohio Senator Vance and several blunders by Minnesota Governor Walz.
About 40% of viewers saw Vance as the winner, while 36% declared Walz victorious.
Another 15% of viewers called the debate a draw.
Vance, 40, likely won over viewers with his powerful presence, as body language expert Patti Wood told The U.S Sun.
Walz, meanwhile, paused in the middle of his sentences several times, drawing comparisons to President Joe Biden.
The 60-year-old governor also misspoke multiple times, confusing Iran and Israel twice and later saying he’s “friends with school shooters.”
But despite viewers choosing Vance as the overall winner, Walz had the edge when it came to personality.
During the debate, 43% of viewers believed Walz was more likeable than Vance – but only by a single percentage point.
On top of that, nearly two-thirds of Americans said vice presidential candidates impacted their vote, while 16% said the picks had “no impact at all.”
Vice presidential debate recap
Ohio Senator JD Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz faced off in a 90-minute debate on CBS on October 1.
Vance started by lashing out at Kamala Harris, pointing out that she’s been the vice president for more than three years and has enacted none of the policies she’s running on.
The debate sparked into life when Walz and Vance clashed over immigration, leading the CBS hosts to cut the Republican’s mic. Vance echoed Donald Trump’s recent claims about illegal migrants in Springfield, Ohio – claims that were fact-checked by the hosts, sparking a heated exchange.
There was another heated moment when the candidates clashed over reproductive rights after the moderators asked Walz if he supported abortion at 9 months.
Walz poked fun at himself in the middle of the debate while addressing the hot topic of his time in China during the Tiananmen Square protests.
But in two of the evening’s biggest gaffes, Walz majorly misspoke – first while addressing the crisis in the Middle East, and later while speaking about the nation’s gun violence epidemic.
A more emotional moment was when Vance offered sympathy to Walz after the governor revealed his son witnessed a community center shooting in Minnesota.
With no further debates scheduled, next on the docket is election day on November 5.
NUMBERS GAME
The deadlock between Trump and Harris shows a change in previous polling conducted by The U.S. Sun.
After Harris announced Walz as her running mate, 45% of Americans planned to vote for the Democratic ticket compared to just 40% who intended to vote for Trump and Vance.
Then, after the only debate to date between Harris and Trump, those numbers shifted.
Harris’ numbers went up by three percentage points, with 48% of Americans saying they planned to vote for her.
Trump’s numbers also increased to 44%.
Harris-Trump debate recap
What’s Happened
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris squared off in their first face-to-face debate on September 10 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The showdown marked Harris’ first as Democratic nominee and Trump’s first since the fateful June 27 matchup with Biden that proved to be the catalyst for the current president ending his re-election campaign.
Why It Matters
The two quickly began sparring on policy points like the economy, abortion, January 6, the Israel–Hamas War, and the border. But several moments from the debate stood out above the rest.
As the two presidential candidates entered to start the evening, Harris strode across the stage to shake hands with Trump, introducing herself and saying, “Let’s have a good debate.”
Trump threw shade at Harris with his ‘I’m speaking’ impression and appeared to largely avoid looking at her throughout the evening.
The ex-president continued to double down on conspiracy theories about immigrants eating cats and dogs in America.
He went on to insist he ‘doesn’t care’ if Harris is Black after his previous public comments about her race.
And he branded her a “Marxist” in a fiery exchange over the economy.
Go Deeper
Harris came out swinging, repeating the phrase “I’m the only person on this stage who,” followed by different talking points, multiple times. She doubled down on her position on fracking, insisting she will not instate a ban. The VP hammered home her points about abortion and plans to reinstate Roe V Wade if elected, further challenging Trump on the topic.
Yet Trump clapped back in his closing remarks by asking why in her nearly four years in office, Harris hasn’t done any of the things she talked about during the debate. He slammed her record and called her the “worst vice president in the history of our country.”
Earlier in the debate meanwhile, Trump refused to answer whether or not he would support a national abortion ban. He slammed VP stances on several topics.
The two also butted heads on their campaign rallies, with Harris insisting that Trump’s attendees leave early out of boredom while he said she buses in and pays people for hers.
Trump has since criticized the debate host, ABC, and its moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis and accused them of going easy on Harris while attacking him.
His daughter-in-law Lara Trump was also among the Republican voices calling the debate “three on one” after Donald was repeatedly fact-checked by the hosts.
And Now
Both candidates will continue on their respective campaign trails in anticipation of the November 5 election. It is not yet clear if Trump and Harris will face off again. The next scheduled debate will be between vice presidential nominees JD Vance and Tim Walz on October 1.
REMATCH?
Interestingly, 82% of voters said they were interested in seeing another debate between Trump and Harris after watching the VP showdown.
But with only weeks left before the election, a rematch between the two presidential candidates is seeming less likely each day.
After the VP debate, Trump was adamant that he would not face off against Harris again.
“Lyin’ Kamala just put out a request for another Debate because they lost so badly tonight—Again, it’s like the fighter who lost, gets up and says, ‘I WANT A REMATCH,'” he posted on Truth Social.
“I beat Biden, I then beat her, and I’m not looking to do it again, too far down the line.”
Trump also cited that he’s already participated in two debates this election cycle – the first being the June faceoff against President Biden which ultimately resulted in the incumbent backing out of the race.
Also, after the VP debate, the Harris-Walz campaign released a statement calling for another presidential square-off.
“Vice President Harris believes that the American people deserve to see her and Trump on the debate stage one more time,” the campaign said.
“She will be in Atlanta on October 23 — Donald Trump should step up and face the voters.”
Harris accepted CNN’s offer for a second debate – but Trump declined.
The ex-president also backed out of a 60 Minutes special slated to feature each candidate in separate interviews.
Harris will proceed with that special, but Trump’s campaign announced prior to the VP debate that he “decided not to participate.”
The 60 Minutes interview featuring Harris will still air on October 7 and 8.
CBS said Trump’s invitation to appear still stands.
Tuesday night was the only scheduled debate between Vance and Walz.
7
7
JD Vance participates in the vice presidential debate on October 1, 2024Credit: Getty Images – Getty
7
Tim Walz speaks during the vice presidential debate on October 1, 2024
