Harris ally Healey not surprised her debate performance didn’t move the needle

Despite Vice President Kamala Harris’ being viewed widely as the winner of last week’s presidential debate against former President Donald Trump, her performance did not cause a notable change in her favor, according to a ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday — which Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said does not surprise her.

“We know that this is going to be a close race,” she told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday. “Kamala Harris says that she’s an underdog, but what’s important is that she and Tim Walz have built a campaign for a close race.”

In Trump and Harris’ match up last week, voters had the opportunity to directly compare the candidates before they cast their ballots in what will be a tight election. Americans by 58-36% say Harris won the debate, according to the new polling. Last week, she sought to capitalize off her post-debate momentum, campaigning in Johnstown and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania — two counties Trump won in 2016 and 2020.

“The enthusiasm has been really strong. And I think what’s very important also is that she and Tim are playing for every voter, they’re going to red counties,” Healey said. “They’re going to red districts, right? Because, as she said in her closing argument, ‘I’m going to be a president for all Americans.’”

During the debate, Harris falsely claimed that there isn’t a single member of the U.S. military “who is in active duty in a combat zone, in any war zone around the world — the first time this century.”

Raddatz asked Healey why Harris would make that unsubstantiated remark when there are 900 U.S. military personnel in Syria and 2,500 U.S. service members in Iraq that have been under regular threat for months, as well those patrolling in the Red Sea, where Houthi rebels in Yemen have targeted commercial shipping.

The Massachusetts governor deflected, saying, “I think what’s important here, Martha, is that Kamala Harris, in contrast to Donald Trump, demonstrated herself to be commander in chief.”

“You say she demonstrated her ability to be commander in chief, but did she not know about these people in Syria and Iraq?” Raddatz pressed. “Why would she say that?”

“That was a comment in a debate,” Healey answered. “I think the point that she was trying to make was a broader point. And of course, we have military in place all around this country. That’s important. We’re the United States of America.”

“She respects our military,” she continued. “She respects our service members. Donald Trump calls them suckers and losers, and it’s why Donald Trump’s former military generals support Kamala Harris.”

On the issue of abortion, Raddatz said Harris didn’t clarify during the debate whether she supports any restrictions on the procedure and asked if the vice president should let voters know where she stands and draw some sort of a line.

“She already did, Martha. What she said is, ‘let’s go back to Roe,’” Healey said before hitting Trump for not saying that he would veto a national abortion ban.

“In fact, he supports abortion bans, just like the Trump abortion ban that’s on the ballot in Florida, and it’s appalling,” she said. “It’s appalling what that means for women, for families, for their health. And you know, that is a clear, clear distinction in this race.”

Turning to the economy, Raddatz pointed to rising grocery and home prices under the Biden-Harris administration and how many many view Trump as handling the economy better. Trump leads on the issue by seven points over Harris in the new ABC News/Ispos poll.

Healey put the blame for the economy on the former president and his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There had to be a huge infusion of money to save our small businesses and to help all of our states,” she said. “Inflation rose as a result. And what’s happened under the Biden Harris administration is they’ve actually worked to bring down inflation. There is still work to do.”

“Kamala Harris has said, ‘I’m going to lay the foundation to see further reductions in the interest rates’, which I think we’ll see soon, and prices are going to come down. But it is very unfair to start that in the middle of the movie when the Biden-Harris team came in, and we’re dealing with a lot,” Healey continued. “We have the strongest economy of any country in the world right now, and they are committed to making life more affordable for people on housing, drugs, groceries and the like. Donald Trump isn’t.”