Who won the presidential debate?

Plus, Tim Walz reacts to Taylor Swift's endorsement and the debate SPECIAL EDITION Wednesday, Sep. 11, 2024 [A split photo of Harris and Trump]( This is a special edition of the MSNBC Daily newsletter. To receive more election news, [click here]( to subscribe to How to Win, a weekly newsletter focused on race updates and expert analysis. [Who won the debate? It wasn't even close]( By Brian Tyler Cohen A win [Kamala Harris](. Throughout [Tuesday’s debate](, the vice president looked poised, qualified and presidential — and that's without comparing herself to the clearly frustrated former president with whom she shared a stage. Harris baited Donald Trump repeatedly, and mostly easily. She needled and poked him on crowd size, his rallies, his racist and [easily debunked lies about Haitian immigrants]( and his[flip-flops on abortion.]( In the process, she exposed both moments of incompetence and the reality that her opponent is concerningly easy to manipulate. If she can do that in front of the entire country — and, indeed, people around the world — it's not a stretch to imagine how he might get rolled by the [world's autocrats and dictators](. She pushed hard to lay out her policy highlights and pushed back on Trump’s various anti-immigrant rants and obfuscations. She humanized issues like abortion and spoke clearly and calmly about the ongoing war in Ukraine, the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and the need for a cease-fire in Gaza. Harris’ performance, with its forceful eloquence and emotional resonance, spotlighted the stark difference between the candidates. And it also contrasted dramatically with the first presidential debate, just a few months ago in June, when [Trump was able to overpower a seemingly tired and confused President Joe Biden](. A loss [Donald Trump](. Let's put it this way: When you find yourself onstage ranting about people "eating" dogs and cats, you're not winning this debate. That's a literal quote, by the way: "They're eating the pets of the people that live there!" As moderator David Muir noted, there is no evidence that any migrants are eating pets. Obviously. But that didn't stop Trump. Even in today's "unconventional" political environment, the man insisting that migrants are eating domesticated animals in middle America isn't winning over those [key undecided voters](. And that’s what Trump was supposed to be doing tonight: making the case that he is presidential. That [his cognitive health isn’t an issue](. That he has a plan to improve the economy and make the lives of individual Americans demonstrably better. This performance, with its grumpy asides and meandering monologues, won't quiet the [growing criticism of his age — at 78](, he's now the oldest presidential nominee in history. And it won't make him seem presidential. When asked about his plans to replace Obamacare, he said he has "a concept of a plan." Whatever that means. A lie It's easy to mock Trump's embrace of the conspiracy theory that [Haitian immigrants are eating pets](, but it's also critical to point out this well-documented lie is intended to demonize a subset of the population for political gain. Trump clearly hopes that promoting racist myths about Black and brown people will appeal to the Republican base. It's disingenuous, disgusting and completely baseless. And to be fair to these ABC moderators, they did a very good job pushing back on Trump in real time, including a strong debunking of the pet-eating myth. "We checked with the city manager" of Springfield, Ohio, Muir told the candidate, even as Trump doubled down with an odd point about seeing "people on television talking about it." This will most likely be one of the most viral moments of the debate — [Taylor Swift's endorsement]( notwithstanding. And that's not going to make Trump's night much better. TOP STORIES [Alternate text] [A photo of Harris and Trump]( [MSNBC Live Blog]( [Highlights: Harris and Trump face off in their first presidential debate]( [A split photo of Taylor Swift and Kamala Harris]( [Hayley Miller]( [Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris in post perfectly timed to debate finale]( [A photo of Trump after the debate]( [Hayes Brown]( [Trump does exactly what his advisers were reportedly worried about]( [A photo of Trump]( [Max Burns]( [Trump’s debate meltdown was spectacular]( [Trump and Kamala Harris at the debate]( [Watch]( [See the first debate between Harris and Trump in 3 minutes]( [A photo of Tim Walz and Rachel Maddow]( [Video Analysis]( ['She put a bully in his place': Gov. Tim Walz celebrates Kamala Harris' debate performance]( [A photo of MSNBC hosts Lawrence O'Donnell, Joy Reid, Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace, Chris Hayes.]( [Video Analysis]( ['Donald Trump got destroyed': See Maddow and MSNBC panel instantly react to historic debate]( [A photo of Gov. Newsom and Trump]( [Video Analysis]( ['He got his clock cleaned': Newsom hails Harris victory in debate against Trump](   This is a special edition of the MSNBC Daily newsletter. To receive more election news, [click here]( to subscribe to How to Win, a weekly newsletter focused on race updates and expert analysis. MORE ON MSNBC [Alternate text] [Listen to the first two episodes of "The Threat of Project 2025,"]( a special four-part miniseries from the "How to Win 2024" podcast. Each episode takes an in-depth look at what could be the draconian blueprint for a second Donald Trump term and the biggest issues at stake. In episode one, Ali Velshi focuses on the reproductive rights policies detailed in Project 2025, while in episode two, Joy Reid examines the policy agenda's threat to education.   On Friday, Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. ET, catch a special edition of The Rachel Maddow Show. Then, at 9 p.m. ET, MSNBC Films presents "From Russia with Lev," executive produced by Rachel herself. Featuring former Trump insider Lev Parnas, the documentary pulls back the curtain on the Ukraine scheme that got the former president impeached the first time.   [UNSUBSCRIBE](listvar=sub_midterms) | [PRIVACY]( | [CONTACT]( | [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [UNSUBSCRIBE](listvar=sub_maddow) | [PRIVACY]( | [CONTACT]( | [VIEW IN BROWSER](