Dr. Phil: Americans React to Donald Trump Kamala Harris Debate | Dr. Phil Primetime

was there something that jumped out at you that you've been waiting to hear discussed you've been waiting to hear talked about who won the debate about the Border tonight I think that Trump was actually thinking versus Kamala kept speaking over him I would side with kamla Harris because she is a woman who if either one would you want as your president we're going to find out which candidate voters feel won tonight's debate and was there anything Donald Trump or kamla Harris said that changed voters Minds first off uh I'm interested in whether or not you thought tonight's debate uh was facilitated in a fair fashion or whether you thought it was facilitated in a bias fashion if if you thought the debate tonight was moderated fairly raise your hand raise it real high so the camera can get it and okay that looks like maybe about half of you if you think it was not fair raise your hand okay so more than half of you did think it was moderated fairly some of you did not think so who wants to tell me why you think it was not moderated fairly somebody raise your hand that wants to tell me why uhhuh stand up if you will in the back back in the suit okay need a mic over here quickly where are M guys you guys stay in the aisles here I don't care if you're on camera or not stay close Okay say your first name and tell me why you think it was not moderated fairly first name is Vance I don't feel it was moderator I feel they she she kind of cut him off felt like multiple times there was just people cutting people off specifically her okay that that yeah they would just be like cutting off and and didn't give him enough time to respond or her I just felt there was a lot of cut off okay well now I don't want to cut you off so I it would be unfair all right good who else has an opinion about this anybody else that thinks it was not fair uh tonight okay stand up and we'll bring him my correct to you go say your first name my name is Michael I feel like Donald Trump was just cutting off comma and really just wouldn't even look at her or give her any respect at all to talk and I feel like if that was me to be up there I would want that same respect and I just feel like he didn't give it to her all right and how about the moderators do you think they were being evenhanded with both candidates I feel like they were being even but at the same time I feel like Trump was cutting them off a lot and just going over time just trying to get his point out and yeah I just feel like he wasn't being very respectful at all okay how many of you agree with what uh what was your name Michael Michael how many of you agree with what Michael was being is saying that he wasn't being respectful okay how many of you think that matters whether he was being respectful or not okay maybe maybe third of you okay all right who else has a comment on the fairness of what went on tonight uhuh stand up microphone say your first name uh my name is Daniel I actually think that it wasn't fair for the exact opposite reason I think that Trump was actually thinking versus Kamala kept speaking over him in the alternate light so okay and how about the moderators do you think they were being fared um I don't just because I feel like Trump kept getting asked harder questions versus Kamala kind of got thrown softballs easier to answer okay how many of you agree with that aspect oh wow that's almost everybody well not everybody but 75% of you okay all right good now let me ask you this if there was something that was talked about tonight that you think was really important to you um there were a lot of topics talked about tonight was there something that jumped out at you that you've been waiting to hear discussed you've been waiting to hear talked about that really resonated with you what was it stand up we'll bring you a microphone say your first name hi guys my name is Kaa and I think that one of the main things that really stood out to me that was talked about tonight was abortion and Women's Healthcare and honestly the thing that jumped out to me me the most was when former president Donald Trump mentioned that women will carry their babies all the way to term and then choose to execute their babies that really stood out to me it felt a little bit uneducated and a little bit biased but I think that honestly on this topic specifically I would side with kamla Harris because she is a woman and she knows what it's like to have that Healthcare restricted and it's really scary for me if I'm in a position where I need that emergency healthare I have to go all the way to New Mexico to go get that with the risk of being arrested you know okay how many of you think abortion was a really big issue tonight and and should be okay raise your hand okay did you tend to side with uh kamla Harris or if you tended to decide with KLA Harris raise your hand okay if you tended to decide with uh former president uh Trump raise your hand okay so you kind of evenly split on that but you agree it was an important issue okay um now uh if there was another issue that jumped out at you what was it uhuh yes ma'am stand up right there second row uhhuh hi my name is Kimmy um an issue that was really important to me that was brought up was Donald Trump um allegedly dividing the country by race um I think that was not handled very well because you know something that he did say that was a big issue was him saying oh Obama wasn't born here or Kamala isn't black but now he's saying well I don't care what she is so it feels very um ingenuine especially when race has been a big issue because of Donald Trump um Trump and his opinion and his policies on migration and and immigration and a lot of um minorities have been affected negatively because of how he feels so for him to just dismiss the topic like it's not important like it's not something that he has repeatedly fed into he could have done way better okay um you're talking about several different things there uh one being the border and immigration right um was that a big issue tonight raise your hand if the border is a big issue okay um who won the debate about the Border tonight if if you think that kamla Harris had the strongest position on the border tonight raise your hand uh four of you um well if you think president Trump had the strongest position on the boorder to raise your hand okay now some of you didn't raise your hand uh so you're not sure those that didn't raise your hand or did I ask did I not ask the question right uhuh you stand up say look just get your mic thank you okay hi my name is Brianna I think that nobody won the debate on the border tonight because when Trump was asked about the Border he kept going around that question and addressing other things and with kamla she asked you know she brought up a policy you know about sorry about bringing more border patrol agents to the border and talking about how Donald Trump killed the bill and she was she asked him about to address that and he wouldn't address it so I feel like both of them were avoiding giving a specific a direct clear answer on the border and it just kind of yeah it wasn't really that's why I said I don't think anybody wanted you know yeah yeah well you listen very carefully yeah I did yeah you listen very carefully about that thank you for that comment um now do you think it's important that we have a secure border does everybody agree with that do you think we have a secure border no okay does does everybody agree we don't have a secure border because that seem like a kind of a a uniform no if you agree we don't have a secure border right now raise your hand everybody pretty much not everybody uh but almost everybody thinks we need more Security on the border okay um the the responses that you got tonight uh did the candidates responses as a whole I'm not talking about any one in particular did did their responses taken as a whole shape solidify or change your perception of their leadership abilities in in watching how they behaved how they responded the strength of their answers the coherence of their answers the way they were able to stand their ground Express themselves move back and forth who if either one would you want as your president did either one of them move your position like you know I'm G to have somebody out there fighting for me or representing us I think I'd rather have him or her did either one of them move your position if either one of them moved your position raise your hand okay who moved your position hi my name is Christina and I I didn't think it would but um uh vice president Harris moved my p position she came across as presidential the way that she held herself the way she spoke all right who agrees that vice president Harris moved your position towards her based on the way she handled herself tonight raise your hand really high okay so that's a like 10 12 of you all right how many of you say that Donald Trump the way he conducted himself moved your position and said if I'm going to have somebody out front as a leader I would like it to be him that moved my position in that direction raise your hand High okay kind of about the same number what did you not hear that you were wanting to hear tonight uh stand up we'll bring you microphone and if you're want to say something stand up so they can find you next uhuh say your name and go hello my name is Jerick and what I didn't hear um just to give a little quick summary I'm prior military and I was in for 7 years I just got out and when I first joined the country was not as divided as this and so seeing the country where it's at now and seeing the division and the back and forth between candidates I didn't hear enough of how we're going to unite I feel as though um as being military that the state of the country the division is in a way uh it's like a backhand it's it's like a slap in the face because first and foremost I'm not for me it's not about left or right it's about protecting the country it's about serving the country and so it just to me um you know it's it's not enough talk about uniting as as a as a country we already have adversary adversaries that are that are already watching us and if we're divided it doesn't help us at all whatever ever side you're on and so you know one day I want to have a family uh that's that's about it I want to make sure I have a family in a in a place where uh the country is in a you know in a good State I don't want to be in a country where we're always feeling as though there's tension and we may not be here for you know as long you proud of being in the military uh yes sir I am you you proud to fight for this country yes sir you know people say thank you for your service like good morning I I really mean when I say thank you for your service because I know you you go out there and put yourself In Harm's Way for the rest of us so we can have freedom and and and the things that define this country and uh you know I hear people apologize for this country a lot and and talk about what's wrong with this country and we've got issues we do uh there's no question about it but I love this country I I do I I stand up when the flag goes by I put my hand over my heart when they play the national anthem and I'm proud to be an American I I really am and I I thank you when I say I thank you for your service I mean it and I hear you saying you want to hear people talking about coming together instead of you know carpeted each other and you know there was a I'm a little bit older than you uh I've been bald since I was 12 but I'm older than you but there was a time in this country where people could really disagree and then when that meeting or debate was over they could say you know let's go have a sandwich and and talk about things they they didn't have to hate each other or or assassinate each other's character uh because they disagreed about even important things and we we really do need to get back to that and I agree with you uh that's something I wanted to hear and that is look we can disagree about policies and issues but you know after 9911 uh the president had a 94% approval rating because on 912 everybody was an American on 912 we were all Americans we didn't we weren't Republican Democrat we were all Americans and I just pray to God that something like that doesn't have to happen again before we're all Americans again and we need to require that from our leaders we need to require them to behave and start acting like adults and and if we do that as voters you know what they'll start behaving that way when they know that we require that and this room is full of Independence they need every one of you they need every one of your votes to win this election and if you let them know that that's what you expect then they'll start showing it they'll start delivering they'll start behaving themselves so thank you for saying that you had [Applause] a my name is Steve can you hear me yeah I can hear you okay good um first of all I think I came up with four points that weren't addressed in the debate first of all being the deficit as it continues to grow and grow and grow uh what are their plans to address if any um the while you've been talking it's gone up more than all of us combined will make in our lifetimes just while you've been talking but go ahead yeah they talked about the uh inflation right but yeah that impacts the the the deficit as well homelessness we really didn't hear much talk about that and as we live in these large cities we see the homeless population Contin to go up in my opinion exponentially over the last couple of decades uh any plans to remedy that situation uh there are a couple others but I forgot them sorry well but you you named some very good ones some important ones that they're very thoughtful let me ask you this how many of you are bothered by the fact that Trump has been prosecuted as both the criminal and and civile if that bothers you raise your hand if you say no that's just law fair they're just after him for their own reasons raise your hand okay so some of you it bothers some of you it doesn't um if you think it's politically motivated raise your hand okay so most of you think it's politically motivated so why does it bother you if you think it's politically motivated true yes ma'am in the back stand up we'll bring your microphone you said that mean it's not true okay the comment of here was it doesn't mean it's not true it's politically motivated stand up say name my name is Marilyn I'm standing I'm short sorry um it bothers me that it's politically motivated because our country was founded on Equal justice under the law and when when Trump faced cases where the time limit had expired cases that were changed from misdem meters to felonies that's that's not right and then when Biden was actually proven guilty of having documents in his home that he wasn't legally allowed to have because he had been a senator and vice president and not a president but they led him off they said well he can't stand trial that really bothers me because we need it to be equal and there's people in this room that I know have not gotten a fair break on a court hearing and it didn't have anything to do with them really doing anything wrong people in this room I bet oh really who I bet just kidding in my defense these are chairs and those are stools that's why I didn't look like you were standing up not that I needed defense okay all right now let me ask you this this debate which was really hyped is being a big thing did this underd deliver or did it deliver did did this actually mean something to you in the back stand up hi my name is Shelly I'm also standing so um I think you know I really I came into this with an open mind I really really wanted vice president Harris to hit it out of the park I don't think she did I think she did better than some people expected her to the cackle was not there I kept waiting for it and it it didn't come but I still didn't get answers I didn't get answers to fundamental questions that we need to know as voters and we just keep getting circled around that like what what did you not get an answer to her her economic plans what is an opportunity economy what does that mean who's paying for the tax cuts that she's proposing because in my opinion giving people down payment assistance on houses just drives inflation up higher who's paying for all of these uh child tax credits that's just the taxpayers coming out out of pocket and hurting the middle class again so I don't think that we got to the meat and potato potatoes of the things that really matter and we know from Donald Trump's presidency before he can fix the economy so I was really looking for her to make an impact on my thought process tonight and she didn't deliver that all right how many of you agree that you heard kind of buzzwords but not real substance tonight raise your hand okay raise it real high because they're going to watch this really they're going to watch this they're going to say Dr Phil had a bunch of independants down there and ask some meaningful questions they're going to watch this I want to see that you all say we heard buzzword we heard names of bills but we didn't hear any substance let me ask you this you said they when they talk about we're going to get people down payments for homes we're going to get child care does when you hear things like student loan forgiveness even if you're one with a student loan I I had one young man on on the show that paid $945 a month for 10 years and owed more than he started with honest to God I wanted to pay it off for him I I I felt terrible it was for cooking school hell I can cook uh but but but nonetheless there is no loan forgiveness what what you God will forgive you but you still got to pay the loan somebody's got to pay that right when you when you hear about that sort of thing does it impact you that somebody's got to pay this that even if it's if it's a worthwhile thing you you may still say I'm I'm willing to do it but you're aware somebody's got to pay it right yes stand up this will be our final comment here my name is Dedra I've I've been a social worker for over 25 years uh funded Bachelors uh with the help of my parents Masters by student loans I paid those student loans from 2000 to 2023 and my balance was greater than when I started I applied I worked for nonprofits I had the opportunity to work with families with children with seniors with adults who are uh who have experienced significant issues in their life and needed support and so it was a privilege of mine to serve those the Biden Administration put forth the I believe the Manpower into the uh Public service loan forgiveness program to really look at who who already qualified right and in 2024 my balance was forgiven which meant even though I had paid more than my borrowed amount plus interest and I still had a greater balance they said this is we're done you're done go forward and so now I'm able to consider the opportunities ahead of me without the weight of that balance that I've been paying on for 23 and a half years that should have been paid for yeah and you've been given back along the way through the work you've been doing it's been an absolute pleasure to do so well thank you for your comment thank you all right guys we're out of time this has really been informative to me and I promise you these candidates are going to watch this thank you for coming tonight and thank you at home for watching uh if you didn't catch all of this go to the Merit app and you can watch it there special thanks to Greg Hartley and Scott Rouse uh we appreciate you being here here good night [Applause]