Women think Clinton won the debate, and men think Trump did


The second presidential debate is turning out to be much harder to call a winner in than the first. Republican pollster Frank Luntz, for one, has named Donald Trump the unequivocal winner of the debate based on the results from his focus group: "I may have made a mistake in writing off Trump. After talking with voters tonight, he's back in this race," Luntz tweeted. Many other early polls showed Hillary Clinton as the winner, including CNN/ORC, which named her the victor 57 percent to Trump's 34 percent.
Interestingly, a YouGov poll, which sampled 812 registered voters, showed a distinct gender gap in its results. Women thought Clinton won the debate with a margin of 50 percent to 38 percent, while men thought Trump was the winner 46 percent to 43 percent.
A significant portion of the debate focused on the release of audio from 11 years ago that caught Trump engaging in a lewd conversation about his pursuit of women. Trump dismissed his comments as "locker room talk," and hit Clinton over accusations of her husband's own alleged sexual misconduct.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Overall, YouGov showed Clinton as the winner of the debate, 47 percent to 42 percent. The margin of error in the poll is plus or minus 3.9 percent.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
The app tackling porn addiction
Under the Radar Blending behavioural science with cutting-edge technology, Quittr is part of a growing abstinence movement among men focused on self-improvement
-
Magazine solutions - August 29, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 29, 2025
-
Magazine printables - August 29, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 29, 2025
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by Trump
Speed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Israel starts Gaza assault, approves West Bank plan
Speed Read Israel forces pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City and Netanyahu's government gave approval for a settlement to cut the occupied Palestinian territory in two
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutional
Speed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for rifles
Speed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Trump taps Missouri AG to help lead FBI
Speed Read Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been appointed FBI co-deputy director, alongside Dan Bongino
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summit
Speed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'
-
DC protests as Trump deployment ramps up
Speed Read Trump's 'crusade against crime' is targeting immigrants and the homeless