Vice President Kamala Harris's debate performance was celebrated by many on the left who claimed that she decisively won against former President Donald Trump. 

According to Newsweek, GOP strategist Mike Murphy analyzed the debate during a recent podcast, and while he gave Harris high marks for the actual debate performance, he was skeptical that she moved the needle in her direction in any significant fashion.

Murphy revealed his analysis of the debate during a Politico Playbook Deep Dive podcast.

He wasn't thrilled with Trump's performance, claiming that the former president sort of "imploded" on stage while he "squabbled" with Harris, noting that people at home aren't fans of that.

What happened?

Ryan Lizza interviewed Murphy and picked his brain about the performance and where both campaigns landed afterward. The podcast was titled the "wall of lava" approaching the Harris campaign.

Newsweek noted:

You may recognize Murphy as David Axelrod’s partner on the podcast “Hacks On Tap.” If you’ve heard him there, then you know his skill in blending his personal feelings about Trump’s politics with incisive criticisms about Kamala Harris’ campaign and Murphy’s trademark wit.

Murphy said Harris has the "ingredients for victory in front of her" but admitted that she certainly didn't lock down the race with her performance, which was more "tactics" as opposed to strategy.

The ‘wall of lava’ approaching Kamala Harris’ campaign
Source: POLITICO https://t.co/MPvZoLkmr6

— American Patriot (@Ledzep2425) September 14, 2024

Murphy was asked if there was anything Harris could do to separate herself from the Biden administration, to which he replied that she should work harder to become an actual "change candidate" instead of just having her campaign pushing the idea.

He added that he believes she should "get away" from Biden as far as she can, but noted that she has to balance looking as though she's stabbing Biden in the back.

Post-debate polls

Post-debate polls were all over the place, depending on the questions asked to survey respondents.

As the New York Post noted, some debate polls, specifically one in the battleground state of North Carolina, showed that Trump gained support. He beat Harris 48.4% to 46% among likely voters.

The poll, conducted Sept. 11 and 12, mirrors surveys from August that showed Trump leading Harris by just two points, but suggests 2% of her supporters may have switched camps despite his lackluster performance on the Philadelphia stage this week.

Other polls displayed by the mainstream media showed Harris "winning" the debate, but like Murphy noted, it wasn't enough to win the votes her campaign was looking for in November.

Only time will tell if that changes, but regardless, both candidates are still in positions to win.