Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy couldn’t help but let his voice slip up a quarter of an octave as he read out the results of a Politico/Focaldata snap poll that showed likely voters were split 50/50 over who won Tuesday’s debate between vice presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz.
Republican commentators and MAGA spectators alike rejoiced Tuesday evening after Vance submitted a polished performance, seemingly expecting a public groundswell of support would emerge for former president Donald Trump’s running mate.
On X, conservative pundit Ann Coulter called the Ohio senator “cool as a cucumber.” And a guest on Coulter’s podcast, conservative consultant Ryan Girdusky, said he was “smooth as a morning cigarette after a cup of coffee.”
Fox News host Jesse Watters even described Vance like the Ohio senator was his Romeo: “He looked beautiful tonight.”
The elation was not shared by the electorate: polls taken after the debate show voters thought Vance and Minnesota Gov. Walz were evenly matched.
Doocy was particularly taken aback by one survey result.
“Politico just published a snap poll… people found it a tie, a 50/50 tie,” he said, his voice trending high and befuddled. Even worse for the onetime Jimmy Carter supporter turned Republican Trump voter was that Walz appeared to clean up with independents.
“Um, 58 percent said Walz won and 42 percent said Vance won” he continued, his voice sometimes rising as if he were asking himself aloud whether this could be true.
Doocy’s one silver lining was that maybe enough independents didn’t see the debate: “However, an awful lot of independents said ‘I didn’t watch’ and that’s a problem,” he noted.
Four in 10 independents said they didn’t tune in, according to the poll. That, of course, does not erase the fact that the 60 percent who did watch heavily favored Walz.
