Kamala Harris surges in post-debate poll as Trump complains she's getting 'too much credit'

Kamala Harris
(Image credit: NBC)

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is surging in the polls following a breakout Democratic debate performance that President Trump panned as overrated.

Harris was widely seen as the winner of Thursday's Democratic debate, especially following her criticism of former Vice President Joe Biden, who she went after for his past opposition to busing. Democratic voters clearly agree that Harris had a great night, as she jumped from 6 percent support to 12 percent in the latest Morning Consult survey released on Saturday. Now, Harris is tied for third place with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass). Biden dropped five points but still easily maintained his lead with 33 percent support.

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But the post-debate pushback didn't just come from Trump, with the California senator also drawing fire from Biden supporters. In a new Politico piece, backers of the former vice president bashed Harris for what one person described as playing "low ball," with another supporter suggesting it would come back to haunt her. Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, a Biden backer and the first female African-American senator, also argued that Harris' "ambition got it wrong about Joe."

The Harris campaign has in recent days additionally been fending off attacks on her race, including one shared in a tweet that was subsequently deleted by Donald Trump Jr., which the Harris campaign's communications director compared to the "racist" birther attacks on former President Barack Obama. "It didn't work then and it won't work now," she said, per CNN. Biden has come to Harris' defense, writing on Twitter that "racism has no place in America."

Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.