The US Media Verdict On High-Stakes Donald Trump-Kamala Harris Debate

US media gave the edge to Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris in her heated debate with her Republican rival Donald Trump. In sharp contrast to President Joe Biden's performance during his July debate, Harris was visibly confident and focused at the prime-time debate held in Philadelphia.

ABC News, which hosted the debate, focused on the falsehoods and conspiracies that Trump resorted to in a desperate attempt to outshine Harris. He was put on the defensive early in the debate as Harris didn't waste time in attacking Trump, it said.

Check highlights of the debate here

Politico declared Harris the winner of the debate - and said it wasn't even a close victory. She repeatedly baited him and knocked him off balance, it said.

The New York Times said Harris "owned much of the night" as she used her skills as prosecutor to put Trump on the defensive.

Vice President Harris was expected to defend the Biden administration before her rival Trump, but NYT pointed out the Republican was left defending his own record as President rather than picking on hers.

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Trump looked "miserable", resorting to crowd sizes and conspiracies - which captured his difficult night, the NYT said. Harris was well prepared in leading him astray, it added.

Washington Post said Trump often strayed from facts and resorted to debunked theories about the 2020 presidential polls that he lost and immigration.

Harris called out Trump's "same old tired playbook, a bunch of lies, grievances and name-calling", declaring the Republican has no plan for the people and is more interested in defending himself.

The Post said Harris was able to deliver her case against Trump in a way that Biden struggled to do in July. She was ready with retorts to most of Trump's charges, it added.

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CNN said Trump took every bait that Harris used to throw him off his game. The Vice President was well prepared and her every retort was designed to enrage Trump, who was often out of control, it said.

Trump nearly choked on Harris' baits, it reported, pointing out that he went on a bizarre spell insisting that migrants eat Americans' pets.

Fox News tried a balancing act, but focused on Trump having to spar with the ABC News' debate moderators for fact-checking him.

Trump and Harris faced off in their first televised debate on Tuesday.

Trump was initially leading in national polls, but the entry of Harris changed the game. Latest polls suggest the two leaders are neck and neck with the Democrat maintaining a marginal lead over her Republican rival.

If Harris wins the November polls, she will become the first woman president of the US.