After the debate, Harris and Trump are in the final stage of the presidential race
Any advances or declines in the polls are expected to be recorded over several days, while both candidates claimed victory in their first debate.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump enter the final stretch of the White House race on Wednesday, riding high on the momentum of their debate, in which they sought to woo undecided voters and move their nearly equal support ratings.
The Democratic vice president and her Republican challenger remain neck-and-neck in opinion polls nationwide and in swing states, days before mail-in or in-person early voting begins in several key states.
No gains or losses are expected in the polls over the next several days, while both candidates claimed victory in their first debate hosted by ABC News in Philadelphia, which saw a heated and tense exchange, although Harris focused on policy and Trump’s answers were limited to lies and rehashing of past grievances.
Objective contradictions
"Harris) focused on the main objective contradictions between her and Trump ... for his part, Trump did not do what could hurt his image in the eyes of his loyal followers, but he is on Most likely did not make any progress among the hesitant voters. "
The Republican strategic analyst Liam Donovan said that while Harris advanced to Trump at some points, the latter failed "to a large extent" that he was carried by the vision of President Joe Biden's policies that are unpopular, and instead accused her of being Marxism "and continued to launch angry attacks on Immigrants.
"We do not expect that this debate will have an immediate impact on opinion polls, but it will definitely enhance the morale at a time when the democrats feel anxious," Donovan added to Agence France -Presse.
It was not fair "
Commenting on his performance in an interview with the conservative-leaning Fox News channel on Wednesday, Trump said the debate had been unfair to him. "It was cheated, as I expected, because when you look at the facts, they were correcting everything (I said) and not correcting her," he said.
He also criticized pop star Taylor Swift for endorsing Harris after the debate, saying, "I've never been a fan of Taylor Swift. ... She's a very liberal person. She always seems to support the Democratic candidate, and she's probably going to pay the price for that in the marketplace."
After replacing Biden in July, Harris rode a wave of enthusiasm that swept the Democratic convention, boosting her popularity and generating record-breaking donations.
With Biden dropping out of the race, Trump, 78, has faced questions about his age and mental acuity, with renewed focus on his often incoherent and rambling speeches.
But Harris, 59, had suffered from stagnant polling ahead of the debate.
Middle voters
Harris is working to appeal to centrist voters, focusing on anti-Trump Republicans including former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz, who lost her position as chairwoman of the House Republican Conference over her opposition to Trump. Trump, meanwhile, has largely focused on his base, warning against immigrants he describes as criminals and painting a bleak picture of a country “in decline” that only he can save.
"Unscrupulous behavior"
In a social media post over the weekend, Trump vowed to sue Democratic donors, lawyers and election officials who he called “unscrupulous” in November. He used Tuesday’s debate to double down on his claims of election fraud in 2020.
Trump and Harris attended a ceremony Wednesday to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by al-Qaeda.
Harris heads to North Carolina on Thursday, one of a handful of states expected to decide the election. Here, Harris has gained six points over the past month to tie Trump.
She then returns to key swing state Pennsylvania on Friday.
Trump, meanwhile, will address supporters in Tucson, Ariz., on Thursday to focus on “our faltering economy and the high cost of housing.”
Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, will travel to Michigan and Wisconsin from Thursday to Saturday.
His Republican counterpart, J.D. Vance, must contend with new controversial remarks after he repeated the claim Monday that Haitian immigrants were stealing and eating Ohio’s pets, something Trump repeated during the debate despite state denials.