The two candidates engaged in a heated exchange in Philadelphia (US state of Pennsylvania). Trump allowed himself to be provoked by Harris, appeared annoyed at times and got on the defensive. Harris attacked Trump head-on and refused to be flustered. The appearance was a special test for her, as she had only entered the race for the White House a few weeks ago. The duel ushers in the hot phase of the presidential election campaign, with the election taking place on November 5.

Harris the winner according to several polls
In a flash poll of registered voters conducted by CNN, 63% of respondents said they saw Harris as the winner - compared to 37% who saw Trump ahead. In a YouGov poll, 54 percent of voters surveyed said that they thought Harris had won the TV duel - 31 percent voted for Trump. However, it remains to be seen what impact the debate will have on the election. So far, Harris and Trump are roughly tied in the polls. 

Trump attacks US broadcaster ABC
Trump used his online mouthpiece Truth Social to share photos of polls showing him as the winner. However, these were online or viewer surveys by certain broadcasters, which do not claim to be representative.

It is still unclear whether there will be a second confrontation after all, as Trump responded to Harris' suggestion by saying: "At the moment, we'll see what we do." At the same time, he attacked the US broadcaster ABC, which hosted the duel. This was the "most dishonest" broadcaster. The duel was "three against one", criticized the Republican with regard to the two presenters. They subjected some of the ex-president's statements to a live fact check and described them as false.

This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.