Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.
In today’s edition, we break down how panels of undecided voters in Arizona and Pennsylvania responded to the debate. Plus, chief political analyst Chuck Todd writes that Donald Trump was portrayed more as an incumbent than his opponent Tuesday night.
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Undecided voters give Harris a look — but not a commitment — after the debate
By Emma Barnett, Alex Tabet, Kate Snow and Jacob Soboroff
A few members of the small slice of voters who remain undecided in the 2024 election were moved by Tuesday’s debate — but at the same time, it might take more than a debate to fully make up their mind.
A handful of Arizona voters previously turned off by both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald expressed interest in the Democratic nominee in an NBC News panel after the debate. All three undecided voters assembled for a similar exercise in the Philadelphia suburbs remained on the fence, with Harris getting a look from two and Trump from one, while the debate overall drew withering assessments: “Manipulated.” “Lies.” “Fluff.” “Same old, same old.”
The undecided Pennsylvania voters from Bucks County seemed to feel more certain in their frustration with one candidate than in their interest in the other.
Lynne Kelleher, a registered Republican who voted for Trump in 2016 and for the Libertarian candidate in 2020, believes this election comes down to a choice: “Do you vote your pocketbook or do you vote your morals?”
“I think Kamala had a good debate,” she said. “I feel more favorably towards her than to Donald, but I’m still not 100%.”
Hannah Reed, an independent who backed Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, said she wants to like Harris but does not think she has “actual policies that are going to be effective.”
But after hearing Trump talk about abortion on the debate stage, Reed said she could not vote for Trump — but is still unsure who she is voting for.
In Arizona, Denise Lewis wrote her name for both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections in frustration with the options presented. Going into the debate, the Scottsdale resident was planning on writing herself in again. After the debate, she’s now considering voting for Harris, but isn’t completely on board.
“I would like to know more. And as we were talking before, here’s Trump, who’s been campaigning this long, long time, and now Harris is finally thrust in the spotlight,” said Lewis.
Harris avoids some big questions, but Trump’s lack of control costs him
By Chuck Todd
In many ways, Tuesday’s debate was quite familiar. Just like our politics for the last nine years, the entire debate revolved around one person: Donald Trump.
By any conventional measure that any political veteran of any political stripe would accept, not one would say under oath that Trump had a good night. He violated all the basic advice that any candidate would be getting before a debate. Don’t take the bait, don’t focus on yourself, don’t be superficial, don’t forget to talk about your opponent and her plans, and don’t forget to talk about your strengths and avoid your weaknesses.
Trump was just a poor debater Tuesday, and he allowed himself to be seen and portrayed more as an incumbent than his opponent. Of course, he has always been a poor debater, but his ability to be a force of nature has helped him overcome what would normally derail a more conventional politician.
It wasn’t until Trump’s closing statement that he tried to effectively pin Kamala Harris to President Joe Biden’s administration. But this isn’t the first time Trump’s performance would have been viewed as potentially disqualifying by any conventional measure — only to have nearly half the country continue to have his back. Many see him as their voice against D.C. and the elites, and many of those voters have learned to compartmentalize his lack of personal appeal by trying to focus on the things they did like from his one term in office.
But if you tuned into this debate to learn more about Harris and what she would do as president, I have a feeling you came away wanting. Not only did Trump fail to connect Harris more directly with the Biden years, but so did the questions. And Harris certainly took advantage of every opportunity to turn many of the questions directed at her or the Biden-Harris administration back on Trump.
Her strategy was pretty clear: dodge specifics about Biden’s record and her role in it, dodge the position changes she has made between running for president in 2019 and running for president today, and turn any question and every answer into a dig or a goad at Trump.
And it worked. How do we know? Because Trump chased every shiny object she offered up.
More debate fallout
🗞️ Today’s top stories
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🤝 They meet again: After squaring off on the debate stage, Harris and Trump came face-to-face again and shared another handshake at a ceremony in New York marking the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Read more →
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⏰ Shutdown showdown: With a shutdown looming at the end of the month, House Speaker Mike Johnson postponed a government funding vote, pulling the bill from the floor amid opposition from his fellow Republicans. Read more →
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📫 Final countdown: Alabama became the first state to begin mailing out ballots for the 2024 general election. Meanwhile, election officials from across the country accused the U.S. Postmaster General of failing to adequately prepare for the election. Read more →
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🚫 Steely decision: Biden’s opposition to a Japanese steelmaker’s bid to take over U.S. Steel could test a relationship with a key ally. Read more →
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⚽ Megadonor moves: Billionaire Ken Griffin, one of the biggest contributors in GOP politics, donated a “substantial amount” to help finance U.S. Soccer’s hire of Mauricio Pochettino as the new coach of the men’s national team, The Athletic reports. Read more →
That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
