Who won last night's debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump? Depends on who you ask

What began with a handshake may have ended with a knockout for Vice President Kamala Harris when she and former President Donald Trump squared off during Tuesday night's presidential debate. Of course, that depends on who you ask.

Harris and Trump met in Philadelphia during a high stakes debate moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis. A disastrous performance by 81-year-old President Joe Biden during the prior presidential matchup culminated with Biden dropping his reelection bid .

This time it was Trump, however, who appeared to flounder .

The former president seemed to lose his cool several times Tuesday night as Harris jabbed away at his policies, his legal problems, the attack on the U.S. Capitol and even the crowd sizes at Trump's political rallies.

At one point, the former president found himself being corrected by a moderator after claiming Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating people's dogs . Springfield city officials have dismissed these rumors as untrue.

The takeaway from several political commentators is that Harris emerged the victor . Here's what people are saying.

The debate: Swing state voters watching debate say Harris was prepared, Trump lost his cool

FOX News correspondent Brit Hume: Harris 'came out ahead'

Chief FOX News political analyst Brit Hume complimented Harris's debate performance Tuesday, saying she was composed, prepared and that she kept her cool.

"She baited him successfully, which is the story of the debate in my opinion," Hume said. "She came out ahead in this in my opinion, no doubt. Now whether it will move the needle in this race — very few things seem to — but, that remains to be seen."

A voter panel on FOX News appeared to agree with Hume's assessment, saying Harris won the debate.

CNN's Chris Wallace: 'Kamala Harris pitched a shutout'

CNN anchor, and former FOX News correspondent Chris Wallace summarized the debate was a disaster for the former president, saying Harris "pitched a shutout" performance.

"I didn't think I was ever going to witness a debate as devastating as the one that (Jake Tapper and Dana Bash) moderated back in June, where Joe Biden basically tanked his reelection campaign," Wallace said on CNN, adding that Trump's performance was "just as devastating" for Trump.

'Trump won the debate' say some social media users

On social media, Trump supporters rallied in favor of the former president, saying he won the debate on a poll conducted by C-SPAN .

"If we were voting for the person who could best taunt Trump endlessly with rehearsed lines, Kamala wins," wrote one social media user . "But would I vote for her for president? Not a chance. The woman was scripted beginning to end. No original thought. I don't trust a thing she says."

Others claimed ABC's moderators were partial toward the Vice President and grumbled that she received preferential treatment, an opinion shared by Elon Musk on his platform, X, formerly Twitter.

"While I don’t think the debate hosts were fair to @realDonaldTrump , @KamalaHarris exceeded most people’s expectations tonight," Musk said, who appeared to voice his support to a Trump presidency.

What could all this mean for Harris?

Harris had much to prove during the debate , experts said, as earlier polls show both she and Trump are neck and neck among likely voters. Whether her performance Tuesday becomes a pivotal moment in her bid to become president won't be known until November.

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John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter at JTuftsReports .

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Who won last night's debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump? Depends on who you ask