Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump faced off Tuesday night at the much anticipated presidential debate in Philadelphia.

Ninety minutes later voters were provided with two starkly different visions for the country to choose from. 

The Bucks County Beacon reached out to 11 Democrats from Hilltown to Bensalem to get their take on how the candidates performed in this high stakes debate.

1. Who won the debate, had the better performance?

Leann Hart, Vice Chair of the Bensalem Democratic Organization: Hands down, Vice President Harris won the debate. She was in control and presidential. She gave smart, succinct answers. Trump gave no answers, and what he did say was a rambling incoherent mess. 

Tom Tosti, the President of the Bucks County Central Labor Council:  It was clear that Kamala Harris performed better than Donald Trump. She was willing to talk on the issues where he just insulted and rambled off topic. 

Laura Rose, Bucks County Indivisible Leader, Newtown: Vice President Harris.

Kevin E. Leven, Co-Lead Bucks County Anti-Racism Coalition, New Hope: Harris. Hands down.

Shannon Alsop, a physician and Democrat from Fallsington: Kamala not only won the debate, she mopped the floor with him. 

Joe Cepparulo, Democratic Committeeperson from Bedminster: Kamala Harris unraveled Donald Trump all night. She baited him into claiming several openly false things such as “post birth abortions and executions” as well as “Illegal Immigrants are eating pets in Springfield.” The moderators also fact checked him on his lies more than a few times. She was clearly the superior debater and Trump was on the defensive the entire time. Every question he avoided and went back to the Southern Border. “Do you regret anything you did that day on Jan 6th?” No Answer. “Do you want Ukraine to win?” Southern Border. 

Adrienne King, DE&I Strategy Lead in ExM Vaccines Operations, Co-lead of the LEAD Employee Business Resource Group, and Founder & President of The PairUP Society, Hilltown: From my perspective, Vice President Harris. She stayed to the facts and came across as the most prepared and composed to lead this country forward.

Steve Levine, a research analyst from Doylestown: Harris blew Trump out of the water. She has plans. He didn’t answer questions, has no grasp of issues. Harris understands details and demonstrated leadership.

Elen Snyder, Democratic Newtown Township Supervisor: Kamala Harris was the clear winner of this debate because she had her facts down completely, she acted in a reasonable fashion and spoke with authority and knowledge of the issues. Donald Trump could not stay on topic and did not answer most of the questions that were asked of him Including answering the question about the Ukraine, and if he wants the Ukraine to win the war. He clearly does not. He looked angry and out of control.

Connor O’Hanlon, Chair of Doylestown Democrats and Director of Candidate Development for the Bucks County Democratic Committee: Kamala Harris handedly won the debate by any reasonable metric. Her clear message delivered in a strong yet optimistic way enabled millions of Americans to envision a future that is positive and provides us all with opportunity.

Ginger Hardwick, Doylestown: Kamala was the clear winner. 

2. What was your overall impression/takeaway?

Hart: I think this debate gave a clear picture of what’s at stake in this election. Trump has no policy, just grievances. He’s running to settle a score and appease his ego. Vice President Harris is running because she wants to move our country forward.

Tosti: It has made it crystal clear to me that one candidate has a vision for our future and one candidate is the same old rhetoric. We should not look back. Move forward with new leadership. 

Rose: Donald Trump is horrifically unhinged, and seeing his rambling, angry performance with its rapid fire lies and grievances was a stark contrast to the intelligence, composure, and vision of Vice President Harris. 

Leven: One of these people is unfit to return to the White House, and the other is Kamala Harris.

Alsop: Honestly, Trump is unhinged.  

Cepparulo: Donald Trump still has no idea how to face Kamala Harris. It’s the same debate strategy he’s used since 2015. “Mine are the greatest as you know, theirs are the worst” etc. I was impressed by Harris in her first Presidential Debate. It is clear Trump still prefers to debate Biden, he referenced it multiple times. Harris was very composed and her facial expressions were a highlight. Trump still preached the big lie that he won the 2020 election. 

King: I think if there was any question of Vice President’s qualifications, she covered that tonight. I believe that we heard the framework of a vision and plan from Vice President Harris that still needs a deeper level of detail, but there was no vision or plan from former President Trump. Trump resorted to his usual name calling, spouting of misinformation, and reflections and empowerment of himself. His tone, body language, lack of eye contact, and constant reference to the VP as “she” and “her” instead of using her name contributed to an overall impression of disrespect and dismissiveness. 

Levine: Vice President Harris spoke facts, truthfully, and had solutions. Donald Trump lied and then lied some more. Trump is unhinged and not fit for office. Harris prosecuted a felon. Harris literally gave him a spanking on voter suppression.

Snyder: There is no equivocation Between these candidates. One is a serial liar and a very angry man… One is a person with a beautiful vision for our country and how to improve our lives. Former president Trump wants to create and maintain the hate that he has solely sewn into the fabric of this great country and the political divide that he has created that will take a generation to get over.

My takeaway from this is obvious … we do not have a country that is in decline, we do not have immigrants that are eating our pets, we overwhelmingly want a woman to have bodily autonomy, and I believe that we overwhelmingly do not want to place a dictator in the White House who is in charge of everything, including the nuclear codes who is a deranged flawed man.

O’Hanlon: Donald Trump’s extremely low energy ramblings hopefully reminded everyone watching what the 4 years of his administration were like. His constant lies and temper tantrums were fully displayed, especially when ABC’s moderators fact checked him. Kamala Harris outperformed my expectations even though I knew she was a strong debater. Her ability to stay calm and quickly fire back when dealing with a wanna-be dictator showed that she has the demeanor to be Commander-in-Chief.

Hardwick: She was cogent, knowledgeable, and tough. Trump rambled. She looked calm and almost amused while Trump looked angry from the moment Kamala reached out to shake hands. 

3. Were there any memorable moments, answers, exchanges for you?

Hart: Honestly, what was most striking wasn’t any particular exchange, but how Trump lied about everything from immigrants eating pets, to executing babies after they’re born. He’s detached from reality. 

Tosti: ‘Run spot run.’ Not sure what that comment was. For Kamala it would definitely be where she looked him in the eye and said you are not running against Joe Biden. 

Rose: ‘Putin would eat you for lunch’ was great. I also loved her response about January 6 that held Trump’s feet to the fire.

Leven: I’m going to set aside for a moment that Trump offered up more than a few “memorable moments”, and I don’t mean that as a positive for the Trump campaign. But I’d rather focus on what’s encouraging my involvement in this race and inspiring me to act on it – by that I mean Harris’s closing remarks. I think division and anger are exhausting, and people are ready to try something different from what we collectively endured from 2016 to 2020. We’re tired of people trying to pull the wool over our eyes regarding Project 2025. We are ready to restore Roe v. Wade and improve our economy. We’re just tired of Trumpism. We can do better, and her closing speech reflected that.

Alsop: Trump saying immigrants are eating the local dogs had my jaw on the floor. 

Cepparulo: Trump just reiterates things from right wing internet circles without any sort of verification. Illegal immigrants coming for union jobs? Jobs that need hundreds of hours of testing and certifications and illegal immigrants are stealing those jobs off the streets? He saw illegal Immigrants eating pet cats and dogs on TV. 

Kamala Harris really hit him hard over and over on women’s rights. She absolutely dominated him in that regard and he went off the rails after that. 

King: Vice President Harris made a strong first impression before she even said a word. The entrance of the candidates – former President Trump entered slowly and appeared hesitant, also as if he was waiting to see what Vice President Harris would do. Vice President Harris came in confidently, walked 90% of the way and stated her title and shook his hand. The Vice President’s use of storytelling to articulate former President Trump’s tracked record and plans was brilliant.

Levine: Abortion. Harris spoke in reality while Trump lied. Trump is unhinged. He’s talking about eating cats and dogs.

Very simple question Trump didn’t answer: does he want Ukraine to win the war? In fact, it came across that he wants Russia. Then, Harris brilliantly reminded Trump he is running against Harris not Biden. She has a much better grasp of world affairs and NATO. He’s a danger to democracy.

When Harris pointed out that Trump sold out the U.S. to China it was powerful.

Harris destroyed Trump on healthcare.

O’Hanlon: Harris’ ability to weave factual arguments with small jabs that baited Donald Trump exemplified a masterclass in debate prep. Knowing that she would trigger Trump by talking about his crowd sizes and his apparent obsession with Hannibal Lector showed a unique approach that Democrats have shied away from for too long. 

Hardwick: Trump’s accusations about immigrants eating pets felt unhinged, but it was also frightening because this is his dangerous playbook of stoking the worst fears about “the other”. I am glad Kamala ended the debate by talking about how we Americans don’t want that kind of division and attack on our neighbors.

4. How did the moderators perform?

Hart: I think they were fine. Could they have given the candidates equal time? Sure. But did they impact the outcome of this debate: no.

Tosti: The moderators were fair. They pointed out differences to both and corrected misinformation before moving on. 

Rose: They were better than others. Sometimes gave Trump extra time, but overall ok.

Leven: I think these were the best moderators I’ve seen in a major political debate in a good while. At least the past two election cycles. I was impressed and a bit surprised that they were willing to reiterate a question three times to get an answer. I felt the moderators were fair and willing to enforce the debate rules.

Alsop: I think they asked hard hitting questions to both candidates. I think they did a good job keeping the candidates on topic as best they could. 

Cepparulo: This was the first time I’ve been happy with the moderators in over a decade. They really kept it moving, and even fact checked both candidates on more than one occasion. I wish they would have shut Trumps microphone off after he demanded speaking time at the end of her turns. The fact checking was unexpected, but very appreciated. Watching Linsey correct Trump by saying “It is illegal in every state to abort a baby after birth” was a highlight. 

King: The moderators performed well in maintaining the flow of the debate. They asked relevant and pointed questions, though at times managing interruptions and enforcing time limits could have been more consistent. They appeared to not be able to control former President Trump’s interruptions and outbursts. 

Levine: They could have done better. Too often they gave Trump a free ride. That being said, Lindsey Davis did a fact check on Trump when he claims women are killing babies at term. There should have been more fact checking. Good that David Muir fact checked Trump on people eating cats and dogs.

Snyder: The moderators in this debate were fair, and tried to keep the candidates on topic. They were much better than the moderators in the previous debate. 

Hardwick: The moderators were excellent. They learned from the critiques of past debates and they were prepared to fact check some of Trump’s most oft repeated lies.

5. Do you think the debate will sway undecided voters?

Hart: If there were still undecided voters, I think this debate clearly laid bare the differences between Trump and VP Harris. 

Tosti:  I think undecided votes will be swayed by this debate. Majority of voters have their mind made up. The undecided needed to see how each candidate performed tonight and there were clear differences in each candidate. Depending on what has them undecided I think should sway some of them one way or another. 

Rose: How anyone is still undecided is beyond me. I hope they understand how unfit he is to hold power.

Leven: Yes. I don’t see how you could watch that debate and still be undecided.

Alsop: I hope so. 

Cepparulo: I think if there were people truly on the fence before this debate, they are not on the fence anymore. One candidate was clearly above the other. Donald Trump did not answer a single question, but went off on random tangents about Hunter Biden’s laptop, and all that other right wing conspiracy theory garbage. She goaded him into going off script, and he was very unhinged. 

King: I am hopeful that it will sway undecided voters. If they are basing their decision on a candidate’s poise and preparedness to lead the nation forward, Vice President Kamala Harris shone as the stronger leader. In contrast, former President Trump appeared more focused on division and self-interest.

Levine: If they listen objectively then yes.

Snyder: I think that this debate, if watched by undecided citizens, might just be the tipping point that would make them throw their vote towards the only candidate that is prepared for this job. I am hoping that they finally see-through the fake and enraged former president and realize that we cannot go back.

O’Hanlon: I’m hopeful that undecided voters can easily compare the two candidates’ visions for the future of our nation. While Trump’s playbook has always been fear and doom, Kamala Harris has proposed an agenda that puts working class people first. I believe Harris made the outreach to those undecided voters during the debate, while Trump doubled down for his base. For the sake of our democracy, I hope that was a stark enough contrast between the two.

Hardwick: I hope that the debate will give some Republicans reason to see that they just cannot support Trump because he is not intellectually or morally fit to lead. I know these conservative voters wish for a Mitt Romney on the ballot but that choice is not there. The debate should confirm the judgments of so many conservatives – like Dick Cheney and most of Trump’s cabinet – who know Trump well and who say it would be a disaster for him to be our President. And Kamala showed herself to be an intelligent and reasonable alternative.