Even as analysts debate on who won the first presidential debate, 61 per cent of Americans regard Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton as the winner, a new Gallup poll has found.
In the polls taken up from September 27 to 28,only 27 per cent of Americans think that Republican candidate Donald Trump was the winner at the Monday's debate held at the Hofstra University in New York state.
Clinton's 34-point lead is on par with her husband and former President Bill Clinton, who won the debate over Republican rival Bob Dole in 1996, Xinhua reported.
Additionally, 59 per cent of independent voters think Clinton prevailed in the debate, the poll showed.
Along the partisan line, 92 per cent of Democrats think Clinton won the debate, while 53 per cent Republicans believe Trump was the winner.
In term of perceptions of the candidates' qualities exhibited at the first debate, 62 per cent said Clinton "had a good understanding of the issues," while 26 per cent said the same about Trump.
A majority, or 59 per cent, said Clinton "appeared presidential" while 27 per cent said so about Trump. Meanwhile, 55 per cent said Clinton was "more likable," while 36 per cent found this about Trump.
Clinton's confidence in detailing one policy plan after another likely contributed to viewer perceptions that she had a good command of the issues and was more "presidential," Gallup said.
Other polls have also shown Hillary Clinton emerging as the clear winner in the first US presidential debate.
According to the CNN/ORC poll of voters who watched the debate, nearly 62 per cent of voters gave Clinton an edge over her Republican rival Donald Trump whereas only 27 per cent of the views said that the businessman-turned-politician had a better night.
Voters who watched said Clinton expressed her views more clearly than Trump and had a better understanding of the issues by a margin of more than 2-to-1.
However, debate performances do not always line up with election outcomes and a poor showing in the debate does not mean a candidate can't come back and win the next one, Gallup noted.
A best example was the first presidential debate held on October 3, 2012 between President Barack Obama, who sought re-election and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, who was widely believed to win the debate but lost the election in the end.
In 2004, George W. Bush even won the presidency in 2004 after losing all three presidential debates against Democratic rival John Kerry.
(With IANS inputs)
