Pollster John Zogby, senior analyst at Zogby Strategies, downplayed the likelihood of a significant postdebate bump for Vice President Kamala Harris following her recent face-off with former President Donald Trump. Despite some gains, Zogby said the electorate remains largely unmoved.
In a Saturday interview on Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend," Zogby expressed skepticism that Harris would see a substantial postdebate boost, noting that most voters have already decided.
"No, I don't," Zogby said when asked if Harris would experience a postdebate bump. "I think the era of big bumps is over. Frankly, so many voters are locked in, and so many are undecided."
The debate, which took place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, was moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis. It marked the first high-profile encounter between Harris and Trump as they vie for the presidency in the upcoming 2024 election, ABC News reported.
While Zogby believes Harris performed well, he noted that any gains she made were likely minimal.
"Even though I do believe that Vice President Harris won the debate — or, rather, that Donald Trump, for the most part, lost the debate — I think she received a slight gain nationally. But we are essentially still at equilibrium," he said.
Zogby said, "There was no knockout blow; there was no ultra-embarrassing moment. Those are the things that have mattered in debates before."
He mentioned that Trump's comments during the debate, particularly on topics like Springfield, Ohio, and infanticide, might have caused some concern among viewers.
"In all honesty, former President Trump went off the rails a bit on Springfield, Ohio, and on infanticide," Zogby said.
However, he said those moments did not lead to a significant swing in voter opinion.
"As the polls came in, there wasn't any overwhelming sense, aside from the fact that voters said she won the debate, but no overwhelming sense that voters shifted to her."
Despite the debate outcome, Trump ruled out any further matchups against Harris in a Thursday post on Truth Social:
"When a prizefighter loses a fight, the first words out of his mouth are, “I WANT A REMATCH.” Polls clearly show that I won the Debate against Comrade Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ Radical Left Candidate, on Tuesday night, and she immediately called for a Second Debate. She and Crooked Joe have destroyed our Country, with millions of criminals and mentally deranged people pouring into the USA, totally unchecked and unvetted, and with Inflation bankrupting our Middle Class. Everyone knows this, and all of the other problems caused by Kamala and Joe - It was discussed in great detail during the First Debate with Joe, and the Second Debate with Comrade Harris. She was a no-show at the Fox Debate, and refused to do NBC & CBS. KAMALA SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE DURING THE LAST ALMOST FOUR YEAR PERIOD. THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!"
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