Portland college students react to Trump v Harris presidential debate

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Dozens of Portland college students gathered for a watch party of the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris Tuesday night.

It was the first live debate between the two in a showcase of each candidate's contrasting styles ahead of the November election.

Trump debated President Joe Biden earlier this summer but the latter’s performance was widely viewed as disastrous. It turned out to be a turning point politically as Biden would later heed the calls from his Democratic party members to step down as the presidential nominee and endorse Harris.

Tuesday’s debate may be another turning point in the race as pundits and political analysts are already giving their two cents about who came out on top.

There were about 100 students who gathered at Lewis & Clark College's Fowler Student Center, alongside faculty and staff, who watched the debate unfold live. Excitement was in the air as KOIN 6 News checked in with several students before, during and after the broadcast.

"It felt like kind of earlier the conventional wisdom of political science was presidential debates didn't matter that much, and now I think that's definitely changed in people's perceptions," said Zane Emerson.

Students from different backgrounds came together to not just watch but discuss the historic debate. They chatted with each other through an online chat group put together by their professors to really dive into what was being brought up.

The students who spoke with KOIN 6 News said they were just happy to be witnessing history.

"Trump talked about Harris, and Harris talked about herself. And I think that's a really big thing. When you're winning, you talk about yourself. When you're losing, you talk about the other person. I've talked about debate for many years, it's a common thing," Emerson said.

"It's quite intense, people are really looking at the rhetoric I think Trump and Harris are expressing, there's a lot of question dodging and I think we're definitely taking note of that amongst ourselves," said Kiana Hall. "This is a normal debate compared to what we've seen. And despite everything, I'm happy that I came here to watch and I'm happy to see it happen."

The debate was moderated by ABC News and broadcast live on multiple networks and online. It was held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia at 9 p.m. E.T.

The format included a 90-minute structure with two commercial breaks and muting the microphone of one candidate when it was the other one's turn to talk. Debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis also provided active fact-checking in-between answers throughout, an aspect Emerson said he was grateful for.

Students told KOIN 6 they hope the debate will inspire people to register to vote if they haven't already. Voting day is on November 5.