He lost, she won. He was restrained. Then he wasn’t. She owns inflation, his tariffs would hurt the middle class.

Tuesday night’s presidential debate between Republican nominee President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris was, depending on which side you’re on, a success or a set up.

And much of the credit/blame goes to ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. They had one job, and they blew it.

Trump’s statements sparked real-time fact-checking by Muir and Davis. Harris, none at all. Even if you believe Harris is the unicorn politician who speaks only the truth, the optics screamed bias.

“It was a little outrageous that they would fact-check only one candidate on the fly,” Tim Murtaugh, who was the communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign told Politico. The Washington Post viewed it differently, headlining their post-debate coverage: “The Night the Debate Moderators Pushed Back.”

Perhaps the pre-debate negotiations shouldn’t have revolved around muted mics, but rather fair and balanced moderating.

The question remains: did the debate change any minds, or was it just political theater?

Though Trump made it a point to refer to Harris as essentially Joe Biden when it comes to the economy, the wind was at the VP’s back precisely because she wasn’t the president. No stumbles, no wandering, no staring into space. It’s a low bar, but she hit it.

Trump did himself no favors with his riff on immigrants in Ohio abducting and eating pets. It was an outlandish moment that’s making the meme rounds on the internet, but supporters are used to such loose-cannon rhetoric.

There were barbs, there were jabs, but no pivotal moment that could resonate and connect with viewers, as Gov. Ronald Reagan scored in his 1980 debate with President Jimmy Carter when he asked voters: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

Far too many are not today, and the “Whose fault is that? Who will make it better?” football was passed between the two. With the exception of Trump and Harris being in the same room, how was this any different from the slew of campaign speeches both accusatory and laudatory the candidates have already made?

What may make more of a difference than all the verbal scuffling between Trump and Harris, however, was Tuesday night’s post-debate of Harris by Taylor Swift.

The woman who continues to break ticket sale records posted this to her more than 283 million followers on Instagram: “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election.”

That is campaign gold, arguably more so than landing a debate punch.

“Celebrities draw increased engagement, increased attention, and they increase conversation,” Ashley Spillane, the author of a new study from Harvard’s Kennedy School on celebrity engagement in politics told NPR. “And no matter the political party or the candidate, there is a real hunger to be affiliated with the celebrities that can do that.”

This could be game, set, match for Harris. Or never-count-him-out Trump could once again surprise his naysayers.

It’s not over until Nov. 5.

Editorial cartoon by Gary Varvel (Creators Syndicate)