As with many debates, claims (and counter claims) were flying around thick and fast over the 90 minutes.

The team at BBC Verify have been putting some to the test, and here's what they found:

Trump claim: “In Springfield, they’re [immigrants] eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats".

• Verdict: Springfield city officials told BBC Verify: “There have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”

Harris claim: “Donald Trump left us the worst unemployment since the Great Depression”.

• Verdict: This is false, at the end of Trump’s term of office in January 2021, the unemployment rate was 6.4%. But it has been higher since the Great Depression, for example when it peaked at 10% in 2009.

Trump Claim: “The worst inflation we've ever had" [was under Biden].

• Verdict: This is false. Under President Biden, inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022, at a time when prices were rising sharply in many countries. Inflation was last above 9% in 1981, but it has been significantly higher than that at several other points in US history.

Harris claim: "If Donald Trump were to be re-elected, he will sign a national abortion ban."

• Verdict: This is misleading. Trump has denied that he would sign a national ban if elected.He has said that he would leave limits on abortion access up to individual states to decide.

Read the full fact check from the Verify team here.

We can bring you some more perspectives now from some undecided voters who have been speaking to BBC News.

William Hoekzema, 31, from Ohio, said Donald Trump was "all over the place" and he is leaning towards Kamala Harris after the debate.

"He was lured into a lot of questions that he should have answered perfectly like immigration and abortion, but he was caught off guard with statements about crowd size, which was really revealing," he said.

The debate was an "audition for Kamala Harris", according to Rohan Vijayan, from the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania.

He's still undecided, but leaning 51% towards Harris following the debate, although he was "looking for her to be a little more personable, a little more natural".

Tracy Murdock, 65, from South Carolina remains undecided, but said both candidates "spoke fairly well".

"I was rather pleased with some of what she [Harris] had to say and actually what ex-President Trump had to say, but I get a very shifty vibe from him," she said.

• You can dig deeper into our voter panel here

Americast’s Justin Webb, Sarah Smith, Marianna Spring and Anthony Zurcher have just convened for immediate post-debate analysis on their BBC podcast.

"A historic night" says Sarah Smith, North America editor, kicking off the pod.

Sarah and Anthony brought fresh takes right from the heart of the spin room, moments after Donald Trump came into the room.

And Justin and Marianna reacted from across the Pond (they were recording when the Taylor Swift news broke).

"Breaking news, Taylor has endorsed Harris," says Marianna Spring, disinformation and social media correspondent.

If you want analysis on the debate, Americast is a great thing to listen to.

Listen on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Image source, .

Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia editor

Image source, Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via Reuters

Kamala Harris told Donald Trump that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “a dictator who would eat you for lunch.”

The expression ‘to eat someone for lunch’ (or breakfast, or any other meal) doesn’t exist in Russian. But one thing you will find in Moscow is the appetite for a US election result that benefits Russia.

The Kremlin will have noted (with pleasure) that in the debate Trump sidestepped the question about whether he wants Ukraine to win the war.

“I want the war to stop,” replied Trump.

By contrast, Harris spoke of Ukraine’s “righteous defence” and claimed that Putin has “his eyes on the rest of Europe.”

In public comments, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova played down the importance of the debate.

“It’s like two famous boxers fighting it out on the Titanic,” Ms Zakharova told Sputnik radio.

“At the end of the fight people ask ‘who won?’ But does it matter? This is the Titanic. In 15 minutes, they’ll hit the iceberg.”

Last week, Putin claimed he was backing Harris in the election and praised her “infectious laugh.”

Later a Russian state TV anchor noted that the Kremlin leader was being “slightly ironic” - cast doubt on whether the US vice-president was a serious politician and suggested she’d be better off hosting a TV cooking show.

Might such a show feature “dictators” eating US presidential candidates “for lunch…”?

Former President Donald Trump’s performance at the debate was “better than you’ll hear from the vast majority of political analysts across the world”, his former political adviser says.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Sam Nunberg, who was part of the Trump 2016 campaign team, says the former president had a "very strong line" when questioning Vice-President Kamala Harris on her shifts in policy.

He says, however, that Trump wasn’t as “energetic” as he was in previous debates and took “the bait” from Harris on several occasions.

Nunberg says Trump “wasted valuable time” defending accusations about issues that were “not important for the debate” - such as Harris’s comments on the size and engagement of crowds at his rallies.

“I was also quite surprised“, Nunberg adds, ”that not only did he just defend himself against her swipes, but he really didn’t get into the dirt with her”.

Marianna Spring
Disinformation and social media correspondent

What does Taylor Swift's endorsement of Kamala Harris to her 283 million Instagram followers mean for how the election plays out on social media?

The online world is a key battleground for both campaigns. Posts from the campaigns are starting to dominate some social media feeds - but what's happening online is also feeding into what's happening in the campaigns.

I've been hanging out with some of the people involved in the Swifties for Harris campaign - who mobilised weeks before Swfit's endorsement. Messaging them straight after her Instagram post was shared, they were very excited.

The online army of her supporters has a reputation for being effective at pushing particular messages online. They also have a reputation for being devoted to Taylor Swift - and ferocious to those they see as her enemies.

This online fandom could be a useful tool for the Harris campaign - especially when it comes to going head-to-head with Donald Trump's already very active base of supporters online, which operates a bit like a fandom too.

More broadly, it puts the election on the radar of younger less engaged voters. The memes and montages from supporters online can feel more authentic than paid adverts, which could also be useful in convincing undecided voters.

But there's a question over whether any of this would attract voters from the opposite team - and there's a risk too that big stars turn off some people who feel like they're a bit out of touch with their lives.

You can listen to more analysis on BBC Sounds

Image source, Reuters

A Democratic Party congressman says their candidate laid out a "very positive, optimistic vision for the country" during the debate.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Texas Representative Joaquin Castro says Vice-President Kamala Harris showed she wants to “bring Americans together”, whereas Republican former President Donald Trump has done “everything he can to pull people apart”.

When asked about Harris evading questions on her shifts in policy, the congressman says she stuck to her record as vice-president.

“I don’t think there’s anyone in American politics who’s flip-flopped their position more than Donald Trump”, he adds.

As for Harris’s admission that she has owned a gun, Castro says this is not new - and other Democrats also own guns for self-defence. He says it is not true that his party want to take away guns from Americans.

We'll be bringing you more expert analysis of the debate in the coming hours, but let's turn for a moment to what some undecided voters made of it all.

Vanessa Pierce, 33, from Wisconsin, was leaning towards Donald Trump before the debate and still feels that way, although she is now "less fearful" if Harris wins.

"I do not want to vote for Trump, but I do not like this current administration," she said.

Jeremy Peterson, 26, from Utah, didn't vote for the Democrats at the last two elections, but says Harris has his support following the debate.

"Tonight was the first night where genuinely I would say I felt... scared at the prospect of a second Trump presidency," he said.

But for some voters, like Chance Phillips from Arkansas, the debate didn't shift the dial either way. He wanted to hear more policy discussion, rather than personal attacks.

• You can read more voter perspectives here

Image source, EPA

The US presidential debate covered many of the issues you might have expected - abortion, immigration and the economy.

But it also covered some new ground, some of it unusual, some of it revealing.

Here are five moments you may have missed:

• “They’re eating the dogs” - this was Donald Trump claiming Haitian immigrants in Ohio are eating pets. City officials have found no evidence to support the claim. BBC Verify covered the issue here
• "This business about taking everybody's guns away, Tim Walz and I are both gun owners" - Harris first revealed she was a gun owner back in 2019, but this could be viewed as a fresh attempt to appeal to moderate voters
• “I read where she was not black... and then I read that she was black, and that’s OK. Either one was OK with me. That’s up to her” - this was Trump on Harris's racial identity, something he has questioned throughout the campaign. Harris called it a “tragedy” that Trump “has consistently, over the course of his career, attempted to use race to divide the American people”

• "It is well known he exchanged love letters with Kim Jong Un" - as the debate covered foreign policy, Harris attacked Trump's relationship with North Korea's leader, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin
• "She's going to my philosophy now. In fact, I was going to send her a MAGA hat" - as the debate moved onto the issue of tariffs, Trump attacked Harris over what he said were her changing policy positions

Image source, Getty Images

One of Republican former President Donald Trump's key backers, tech billionaire Elon Musk, has weighed into the post-debate spin.

The pair have forged a close alliance - with Trump saying he would enlist the entrepreneur to run a “government efficiency commission” if he wins in November.

The Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink boss said Kamala Harris' debate performance "exceeded most people’s expectations", in a post , externalon X, the social media platform he owns.

"That said, when it comes to getting things done, not just saying nice-sounding words, I strongly believe that Trump will do a far better job," he said.

Americans wanted clarity from both candidates on key issues like the economy and immigration, polling expert James Kanagasooriam says.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Kanagasooriam of pollsters Focaldata says those are the top two issues that voters want their future leader to solve.

While Trump was at his strongest when discussing the economy, he says, the former president took a “bizarre turn” when speaking about immigration.

That issue is “an acute weakness” for Democrats like Harris, he adds, but Trump’s comment about migrants eating cats and dogs was “rambling” and “diffuse”.

As for a potential election result? Kanagasooriam says it’s still too close to call.

A large-scale poll by his firm, external suggests the election is on a “knife-edge” with around 50-60,000 votes between the two candidates - and they are currently forecasting a narrow Trump lead.

Following the US debate, Republican former President Donald Trump has been posting on his social media platform Truth Social, repeating his attacks on Haitian migrants in the US state of Ohio.

Trump is posting videos and documents about the baseless claims he made during the debate about migrants eating household pets in Springfield, Ohio.

BBC Verify investigated the reports and officials say there is no credible evidence to support the claims.

Trump is also making numerous posts saying he won the debate and applauding Fox News hosts who complimented him on air after the matchup.

Supporters of both candidates in the US election held watch parties on Tuesday as Trump and Harris sparred on stage in Philadelphia.

News photographers were with them to capture their reactions:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just waking up in the UK, one of the major talking points after the US presidential debate is pop star Taylor Swift's endorsement of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

But what effect will the 34-year-old Shake if Off singer's backing have on the 5 November election?

Not that much, according to Lauren Rosewarne, a University of Melbourne professor who studies the intersection of media and politics.

"No surprise at all, she endorsed Biden and Harris in 2020 so we already knew her politics," Rosewarne told the BBC.

Swift's endorsement could have an impact on voter registration, she said, but because her fan base skews young and female - and that is already the Harris supporter base - it may not have a big impact come November.

• You can read more about Taylor Swift's endorsement of Kamala Harris here

As our North America editor Sarah Smith just reported, Donald Trump spoke to the media after the 90-minute debate ended.

Watch below for his thoughts on the moderators, a second debate, and if migrants are eating dogs in Springfield, Ohio, as he claimed.

It was clear Trump knew he had not done wellpublished at 06:54 British Summer Time 11 September

06:54 BST 11 September

Sarah Smith
North America editor, reporting from Philadelphia

Image source, EPA

One of the most dramatic moments of the night came after the debate, when Donald Trump unexpectedly walked into the media centre "spin room".

His surprise appearance was a clear sign that he knew he had not done well on the debate stage, and wanted to try offer an alternative narrative to the TV cameras.

He was immediately swarmed by a huge scrum of reporters – some asking him why he felt the need to come here himself, rather than letting his performance speak for itself.

"It was the best debate I’ve ever had," he claimed.

If that’s what he truly believed he would not have felt the need to come and say so in person. When Trump emerged as the clear victor from his debate with Joe Biden in June he did not appear personally to give his own spin to the press.

Asked if he will agree to a second debate - as the Harris campaign has suggested - he said: "She wants another debate because she lost tonight very badly."

But even his typical bombast couldn’t obscure his obvious concern that he had not come out of this encounter on top.

Will fossil fuels be dead under Harris?published at 06:43 British Summer Time 11 September

06:43 BST 11 September

Discussing energy policy, Donald Trump said that if Kamala Harris won the election “our country and oil will be dead. Fossil fuel will be dead. We’ll go back to windmills and we’ll go back to solar.”

But the figures show that under the Biden administration, the US has been drilling record amounts of oil.

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), it averaged 12.9 million barrels per day in 2023, breaking the previous US and global record of 12.3 million per day set in 2019.

The EIA has forecast that wind and solar energy will lead the growth in US power generation in the coming years.

Image source, Getty Images

A political love story developed on Tuesday night, as Taylor Swift fulfilled Kamala Harris's wildest dreams and endorsed the Democrat for president.

Apparently, there is bad blood between her and Trump, after the former president posted AI photos that gave the false impression that she had already endorsed him last month.

Trump received a heavy dose of karma shortly after walking off that debate stage in Philadelphia.

The world-famous musician knows all too well that her endorsement, posted to more than 284 million people who follow her on Instagram, could make a difference in the election.

You can read more here about what Swift's backing might mean for the candidates.

Harris manages to get under Trump's skinpublished at 06:04 British Summer Time 11 September

06:04 BST 11 September

Courtney Subramanian
Reporting from Washington DC

Polls have repeatedly shown voters want to know more about Kamala Harris and her policies. While she mostly evaded questions on her shifts in policy since 2019, she delivered strategic and direct answers designed to appeal to moderate voters she's looking to win over in November.

Her campaign has been a marked departure from the one she ran during the 2020 Democratic primary, when she embraced more liberal positions more in line with Bernie Sanders than Joe Biden. Many voters wondered whether those were positions she still held.

But while Harris has managed to distance herself from those progressive stances, she continues to struggle with the balancing act of painting herself as an agent of change while also defending her administration's record.

As Trump ably asked in his closing argument, she hasn't been to convey why she hasn't made any of the changes she's promising in her campaign during her time in the White House.

It's unclear if viewers learned more about her policy, but Harris was successful in landing a string of attacks that riled Trump.

The Harris campaign will be pleased that viewers saw a version of Trump - visibly agitated - that they did not see in the last debate with Biden.

Trump's scowl and Harris's bemused grin hints at who had the better nightpublished at 05:59 British Summer Time 11 September

05:59 BST 11 September

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent, reporting from the debate

Republicans are already complaining about what they say was the favouritism the ABC moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, showed toward Harris. Both of them pushed back and fact-checked assertions made by Trump on several occasions.

In the end, however, it was Trump’s responses and eagerness to take and devour whatever bait Harris set out for him that was the story of the evening.

And that played out in the faces of the two candidates. Whenever her opponent was talking, Harris took on a studied look of bemusement or incredulity. Trump, for his part, mostly scowled.

Up until now, the Harris campaign had been coy about whether she would agree to another debate. Almost immediately after this one ended, they called for a second presidential debate before November.

That alone should indicate how well the Democrats think Tuesday night went for Harris.

You can read more of my debate analysis here.