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The discussion leading up to the debate was nearly unanimous: The public has a good grasp of Donald Trump's background and policies, but they are unsure of Kamala Harris and her intentions as president. It could be a silver lining for Democrats who were unhappy with the results of recent surveys; voters will have more opportunities to hear her voice their opinions.
She took advantage of one of her finest chances to argue her point during the debate.On a broader scale, Harris thought Trump would play "Donald's Greatest Hits." She hopes to persuade the nation to move on from Trump, and the moment she declared that 81 million voters had "fired" him, she saw him spiral into the "stolen 2020 election" meme. She went on to say that there are hundreds of thousands of Polish Americans in Pennsylvania, and that if Trump were in power, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv staring down Poland. She also implied that Trump should declare a remarkable neutrality between Russia and Ukraine.
Harris even benefited from the appearance of an advantage. At the beginning of the debate, she went over to shake hands with Trump, giving him the upper hand. Having her dwarfed by Trump was clearly not an issue for her.
She glanced across at Trump multiple times during the debate as she criticized his racial record, foreign policies, and the fact that many of his senior advisors refused to back him. As the occasional two-shot became evident, Trump gazed relentlessly ahead. This was just one of many notable contrasts between Trump's debate and the one with President Joe Biden, who appeared listless on television several times.
President Trump hails ABC discussion as "the greatest debate ever"
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You can see how Trump's backers felt about the debate by how harshly they criticized the moderators for focusing on Trump's claims rather than Harris's. The two candidates' lopsided use of outright lies may be to blame for part of the imbalance, but it's also true that ABC's David Muir and Linsey Davis didn't investigate why Harris has shifted her stance on so many important topics.
At its core, the debate has three important lessons to teach. Harris accomplished a great service to herself, and Trump validated the deepest concerns of those who were not completely behind him. The third and final conclusion, however, is still up in the air: if Trump's political standing is unaffected by this debate, it would indicate that he is even more impervious to the ever-changing tides of politics than we had anticipated.
Politico Daily Briefing: The Harris-Trump Debate's Most Important Moments
Harris was well-prepared and delivered on her arguments. The Trump camp may have discovered the use of a concealed teleprompter once she performed sufficiently. Among her many campaign promises was a reduction in the cost of housing and tax relief for new parents. Oh, and did you hear that she is a gun owner and refuses to stop fracking?
Harris made Trump's night, in the worst way imaginable, but that's not even the most remarkable thing. The team had hoped that Trump would be unable to resist setting off the trip wires that they had given to Harris. Trump not only fell for the bait, but he also brought along some of his own, which he stumbled over time and time again. It was as if Charlie Brown had a couple extra footballs on hand, and Lucy had brought six for him to throw about.
After the discussion, Harris says, "Today was a good day."
Even though Trump received more time to speak, the Harris camp is unlikely to be upset about it because they would have given Trump that advantage anyhow.
When Harris mocked Trump for his rallies' declining attendance, she was aiming squarely for a certain target. He would inevitably say that her audiences were smaller and that she should have paid her followers to come, as she knew he would do. The Harris camp, however, was unprepared for Trump's sudden return to his earlier comments about the "millions and millions" of illegal immigrants and his assertion that they are "eating the dogs!" The felines are being devoured! You could have switched off your televisions at that point, as sportscaster Warner Wolf may have put it.