Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trump claims he won the second presidential debate by 89 to 11 per cent at campaign rally

'That's when I like polls, when I get them in my favour I like them,' the president says

Danielle Zoellner
New York
Saturday 24 October 2020 15:20 EDT
Comments
Key moments from the final presidential debate

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Donald Trump has claimed he won the second presidential debate against Democratic challenger Joe Biden by 89 to 11 per cent, but he did not specify what polling showed the alleged landslide victory.

The claim was first made by the president in a Saturday morning tweet before he took the stage in Lumberton, North Carolina, for a campaign rally.

“Debate Poll Average: 89% Trump. 11% Sleepy Joe Biden,” he wrote.

Minutes later Mr Trump said another poll announced him as victor over Mr Biden by even more – 91 per cent – when speaking to the North Carolina crowd without citing any pollster.

"That's when I like polls, when I get them in my favour I like them,” the president said. “When I get them in my favour I say 'that's great.' When they're not in my favour I don't discuss them."

A CNN instant poll found that 53 per cent of debate watchers thought Mr Biden won the debate over the president, who earned support from 39 per cent of viewers.

Then a Politico/Morning Consult flash poll released on Friday found that 54 percent of debate watchers believed Biden won the matchup, while 39 percent said Trump did.

YouGov found that Mr Biden won 54 per cent to 35 per cent against the sitting president. Also a Data for Progress progressive poll gave the win to the former vice president with 52 per cent of support over the 41 per cent going for Mr Trump.

A poll of Fox News viewers gave the win to the president, with 74 per cent of respondents saying Mr Trump won over 24 per cent for Mr Biden.

Other online polls also gave the win to the president, but they are less reliable because they allow supporters of a specific candidate to encourage other people to enter in the poll, thus skewing the results.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in