Before the first, and perhaps only, debate between the vice president Kamala Harris and the former president Donald TrumpDemocrats and Republicans had different concerns.
Republicans feared Trump would engage in personal insults instead of focusing on criticizing the administration’s unpopular policies. Bidenparticularly in economic matters.
Democrats wanted Harris to be able to better define herself and her political vision to the American public. With polls tied, Democrats also wondered whether a strong debate performance could translate into votes.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump during the debate on ABC.
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Republicans had good reason to worry about Trump’s notorious inability to maintain a disciplined argument and focus his attacks. While that wasn’t a problem in the face of President Biden’s incoherence in June, it has become one this time around.
Harris managed to provoke Trump early in the debate, saying:
“I’m going to invite you to go to one of Donald Trump’s rallies because it’s really interesting to see. He talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter. I will talk about windmills that cause cancer. And what you’ll also notice is that people are leaving their gatherings early because of exhaustion and boredom. And I’ll tell you, the one thing you won’t hear him talking about is you.”
Trump, famous for the size of his rallies and notoriously touchy, is easily unsettled by any insinuation that his actions are something less than packed stadiums filled with adoring fans.
From then on, Harris remained mostly on the offensive, leaving Trump nervous and angry on the defensive.
A major indicator of Harris’ success was the reaction of the right-wing media. Breitbart blamed ABC News and the moderators David Muir And Linsey Davis to ally with Harris against Trump. Megyn Kellya former Fox News personality, expressed outrage at moderators for fact-checking Trump but not Harris.
The absolute gall of ABC to continue to “fact check” ONLY Trump while letting him lie in every response is infuriating.
– Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) September 11, 2024
This was predictable, since Trump had already complained about ABC before the debate (Trump sued ABC and the news anchor). Georges Stephanopoulos for defamation).
Despite the complaints, Trump spoke six minutes longer than Harris, although she appeared to deliver more effective attacks.
Some of Trump’s more outlandish statements speak for themselves:
– “She (Harris) wants to perform transgender operations on illegal aliens in prison.”
– “But your vice presidential candidate says that abortion in the ninth month is perfectly acceptable. She also says that execution after birth (that’s an execution, not an abortion, because the baby is born) is acceptable.”
– “In Springfield, they eat the dogs. The people who came in. They eat the cats. They eat the pets of the people who live there.”
– “Let me tell you about world leaders. Viktor OrbanOne of the most respected men, he is called “a strong man”. He is a tough person. Intelligent. Prime Minister of Hungary.
-“Poutine I supported her (Harris) last week.”
As usual, Trump was Trump, and Harris used it skillfully. While Harris sometimes lacked policy specifics, she managed to articulate concrete plans, particularly in support of families and small businesses.
It’s true that many voters, especially swing voters, think they know a lot about Trump but much less about Harris. This debate was an important opportunity for Kamala Harris to introduce herself to the electorate.
However, it has been a long time since Americans have witnessed a debate focused on substantive policy. Fourteen years, to be exact, when Barack Obama And Mitt Romney They shared the stage. As we know from the famous debate Nixon–KennedyImage often matters more than politics.
Harris concluded with a message of hope: “Let’s turn the page and move forward.” Shortly after the debate, Taylor Swift supported her in an Instagram post, signing it “Taylor Swift, woman with a cat and no children”.
It was certainly Harris’ night, but will it translate into votes?
That remains to be seen.
Despite the increased attention she has received since July 21, Harris has not received much support at the convention, and polls continue to show a tie. While their results are better than Biden’s, Republicans still have a structural advantage in the Electoral College, with small, rural red states getting more votes per capita than large, urban blue states like New York and California.
The Harris campaign is right to call itself the loser in this race.
