Was Harris an outright winner of the debate?

Perhaps most important for Harris, she looks to have passed the commander-in-chief test. Going into the debate, Trump had argued that the world leaders would treat her “like a play toy.” After Harris repeatedly lit into Trump at the debate and had him on the defensive, that narrative looks far harder to sustain.

Does Harris’s success mean that the fundamental dynamics of the race have changed? Probably not. Yes, some debates change everything. Just ask President Biden.

Hillary Clinton was judged to have won her debates against Trump in 2016. She saw a bump in her poll numbers. Her lead didn’t last.

Of course, Clinton didn’t have the benefit of having Taylor Swift endorse her immediately following a debate as Harris did. The world’s biggest star also shared a link to vote.gov showing how to register to vote. More than 400,000 people visited the site in the following twenty-four hours.

One reason debates generally don’t make a difference is that most viewers already know who they support.