Who won the final debate? Pollsters give Biden edge, Trump shares surveys giving him resounding victory
Traditional polling agencies have declared Joe Biden as the victor in the final presidential debate on October 22. However, a number of independent polls on social media painted a different picture.
A snap poll by CNN gave the former vice president a 14 point edge over the commander-in-chief at 53 to 39 percent. Meanwhile, 54 percent of respondents in a separate poll by YouGovAmerica gave the edge to Biden while 35 percent believed Trump won the debate.
Nonetheless, the President seemed to be undeterred by mainstream pollsters, especially after the 2016 polling debacle that eventually resulted in a major upset victory for him. Trump, instead, retweeted a series of Twitter surveys from his account, some indicating he won as much as 96 percent.
CNN's post-debate poll was conducted via telephone interviews, surveying 585 registered voters who watched the debate. According to the outlet, the poll has a sampling error of plus or minus 5.7 points. In comparison, the CNN poll taken after the first debate had Biden at 60 percent while only 28 percent favored Trump.
Biden beat Trump in yet another poll snap poll by Data Progress conducted post-debate on Thursday. It found that the former Vice President beat the POTUS by 52 percent to 42 percent, while seven percent said they were undecided. And in a survey conducted by US Politics Polls, Biden won 52 percent to just 39 percent for Trump, while 9 percent thought it was a tie. The poll interviewed 772 likely voters who watched the debate on Thursday.
Trump, however, shared a series of tweets showing snap online polls that gave him an unprecedented victory. He shared a screenshot from a survey by the Las Vegas Review-Journal that gave the president 92 percent on the question of who won the debate.
Trump posted a screenshot from a survey by the Las Vegas Review-Journal that showed the president won 92 percent on the question of who won the debate. Meanwhile, another survey conducted by The Blaze gave him a staggering 96 percent. Trump shared two other screenshots that showed him winning by over 91 percent. He also shared a survey by The Daily Wire that found 95 percent favored him while 4 percent favored his opponent.
Mainstream pollsters appeared to give Biden the edge across the board, but several prominent figures declared Trump as the superior performer. "Sorry, but Trump won that by a country mile. It probably won't matter because there are so few undecided voters and so many people have already voted early or by mail," political consultant Liz Mair tweeted. "But Biden really underwhelmed and underdelivered."
"Trump won this debate, handily. Biden wasn’t a force at all. Trump was substantive, on-point, well-tempered. Definitely helped himself, when it mattered most," former Fox News and NBC host Megyn Kelly added. "President Trump won the debate. As for Joe, get ready for a good fact check tomorrow!" Texas congressman Dan Crenshaw wrote.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham tweeted a photo of CNN panelists Anderson Cooper, Gloria Borger, and David Axelrod with expressionless looks on their faces and wrote alongside, "how you know Trump won the debate." "President Trump just won the election at the debate," Republican activist Terrence K. Williams tweeted.
Sorry, but Trump won that by a country mile. It probably won't matter because there are so few undecided voters and so many people have already voted early or by mail. But Biden really underwhelmed and underdelivered.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) October 23, 2020
Trump won this debate, handily. Biden wasn’t a force at all. Trump was substantive, on-point, well-tempered. Definitely helped himself, when it mattered most.
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) October 23, 2020
President Trump won the debate.
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) October 23, 2020
As for Joe, get ready for a good fact check tomorrow!
How you know Trump won the debate. pic.twitter.com/MrplmL8xHA
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) October 23, 2020
President Trump just won the election at the debate
— Terrence K. Williams (@w_terrence) October 23, 2020