Volkswacht Bodensee - After fiery debate, Harris and Trump at 9/11 memorial

The Democratic vice president delivered a strong performance against her Republican rival, most analysts said, as the two head toward the November election neck-and-neck in the polls.

Both candidates declared victory after coming face to face for the first time on the biggest night so far of the campaign -- although any major shift in support may be unlikely.

The ABC News-hosted debate in Philadelphia was punctuated by tense exchanges, with Harris focused on policy while Trump's answers were littered with wild falsehoods and were often about his past grievances.

On Wednesday, Trump came out swinging in an early morning interview with Fox News, claiming -- without evidence -- that the debate was "rigged" against him.

"It was a rigged deal, as I assumed it would be, because when you looked at the fact that they were correcting everything and not correcting with her," he complained.

Republican strategist Liam Donovan said Harris scored points on Trump, and the Republican "largely whiffed" in his efforts to tie his opponent to President Joe Biden, instead "going on angry tirades."

"It will surely boost morale at a time when Democrats are getting anxious," he told AFP.

- 9/11 memorial -

After replacing Biden as the candidate in July, Harris rode a wave of enthusiasm through the Democratic convention that boosted her popularity and gave her record fundraising numbers.

And with Biden gone, 78-year-old Trump finds himself as the candidate facing questions about his advanced age, with renewed focus on his eccentric and often rambling speeches.

But Harris, 59, had seen her polling momentum begin to stall ahead of the debate.

The Democrat has been reaching to the center, showcasing a parade of anti-Trump Republicans -- most recently former vice president Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz, who was thrown out of the House leadership over her opposition to the tycoon.

Trump has largely appealed to his own base, with apocalyptic warnings about migrant criminals and painting a dark picture of a country in "decline" that only he can save.

In a threatening social media post at the weekend, Trump vowed to prosecute Democratic donors, lawyers and elections officials who engage in behavior he deems "unscrupulous" in November.

He used the debate on Tuesday to double down on his bogus voter fraud claims from 2020.

In New York on Wednesday, Biden looked on as Harris and Trump greeted each other again, with all three wearing blue commemorative ribbons.

They watched as the names of the almost 3,000 victims of the attacks were read out.

"We stand in solidarity with their families and loved ones. We also honor the extraordinary heroism on display that fateful day by ordinary Americans helping their fellow Americans," Harris said in a statement.

Harris heads Thursday to North Carolina -- one of a handful of states expected to decide the election, where she has erased a six-point Trump lead to draw level.

Trump is due onstage in Tucson, Arizona on Thursday focusing on "our struggling economy and the rising cost of housing."

Harris's running mate Tim Walz will travel to Michigan and Wisconsin from Thursday to Saturday, as his Republican opposite number J.D. Vance deals with the fallout from another round of controversial remarks.

The Republican vice presidential nominee amplified a false claim Monday that Haitian immigrants are abducting and eating pets in Ohio.

In the debate, Trump repeated the bizarre claim, which has been debunked by local authorities.

C.Bruderer--VB