President Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden’s dueling town halls on Thursday night offered each of the candidates a chance to showcase their strengths and sway undecided voters.

But despite airing at the same time slot, the competing events weren’t evenly matched.

The Post’s panel of election experts — two for each town hall — generally found that the questions posed to Trump were tougher, with NBC host Savannah Guthrie acting as an adversary and fact-checker to the president.

https://nypost.com/2020/10/15/dueling-town-halls-experts-grade-president-trump-and-joe-biden/

Biden, meanwhile, was mostly lobbed softballsas ABC host George Stephanopoulos stayed largely hands-off.

“The questions were softball. I think Biden lost votes with his answers on why black voters should vote for him, transgender rights and fracking,” said longtime Staten Island Republican political strategist Leticia Remauro.

“Of those who presented as undecided in the audience, it was a strong performance. The president interacted well with questioners and seemed much more contained than in his debate with Biden,” said David Birdsell, dean of Baruch College’s Marxe School of Public and International Affairs.

Matt Mackowiak, a longtime Republican strategist, thought that Trump being himself all the way also may have gained him an upper hand.

“Trump gave his standard responses on these subjects. It was interesting to see him post-COVID recovery. I think he may have helped himself marginally tonight,” said Mackowiak, a podcast host and chairman of the local Republican Party in Austin, Texas.

Meanwhile, Biden was calm and collected, which Eric Soufer, who worked on the Democratic presidential campaigns of John Edwards and Barack Obama, argued may be enough to change the minds of some ballot-casters.

“I think Biden’s decency, calm and thoughtfulness — especially when compared on a split screen to Trump — will have a lasting impact on the remaining undecided voters,” said Soufer.

Countered Remauro, “Don’t think that’s enough to get him elected president.”

Credit: NY Post