Philadelphia, 11 September 11, 2024 (TDI): On the platform of the presidential debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris first met.
They shook hands, but there was no spark between them.
Throughout the intense ninety minutes of the campaign, Harris repeatedly unnerved the outgoing president with disparaging remarks that elevated the stakes in this eagerly awaited match.
She constantly put Trump on the defense by making scathing remarks about the size of his rally crowds, his actions during the Capitol incident, and the government personnel who worked under him but are now vocal opponents of his campaign.
This presidential debate mostly followed a pattern where Harris would provoke her Republican opponent into lengthy defenses of his previous behavior and remarks. With great pleasure, he nodded sometimes and raised his voice.
Harris stated that Americans should attend a Trump rally because they were insightful in response to an early immigration question. Because they are tired and bored, many begin to leave the rallies early.
The former president was obviously startled by that criticism since he then devoted the majority of his response—which should have been one of his primary areas of expertise—to disparaging her rally size and defending his own.
After then, Trump erupted into a lengthy monologue on a story that was later shown to be false, according to which Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were kidnapping and eating the pets of their neighbors.
Also read: Kamala Harris Accepts Democratic Nomination
The vice-presidential candidate has an advantage Tuesday night if debates were decided on who best capitalizes on their strong points and defends or sidesteps their weaknesses.
The economy and abortion were the themes of discussion early in the evening, so it’s possible that this snapshot is fleeting, but Harris’ strategy of placing Trump on the defensive was evident.
Numerous Americans, including Harris, seem dissatisfied with the way the Biden administration has managed the economy and inflation, according to public opinion polls.
However, Harris then brought up Project 2025, the divisive independent conservative plan for a future Republican presidency, and Trump’s proposed universal tariffs, which she referred to as a “Trump sales tax.”
Recognizing that the Biden administration had maintained many of the tariffs during his first term in office, Trump dissociated himself from the initiative and defended his tariff plan, as he has done in the past.
Though he didn’t press the vice president on inflation and consumer prices, these were nonetheless legitimate issues.
Trump justified his approach to the abortion debate by claiming that all Americans wanted the Supreme Court to overturn the protections provided by Roe v. Wade, a claim that is not supported by polling data.
His response was occasionally meandering and he had difficulty articulating his position.
Meanwhile, Harris seized the chance to deliver a passionate, heartfelt plea to families who have had serious pregnancy difficulties and have been denied access to abortion treatment in areas where the procedure has been outlawed—states known as “Trump abortion bans,” as she put it.
It’s demeaning to American women,” she declared in closing.
She is leading Trump by double digits in this particular area, so it was a well calibrated message.
Harris repeatedly put Trump on the defensive throughout the evening with jibes and attacks that he could have chosen to ignore but felt obligated to respond to.
Also read: Kamala Harris overtakes Trump in new poll
The vice president changed the topic of discussion regarding Harris’s weak point—the pullout from Afghanistan—to Trump’s talks with Taliban representatives and his invitation to Camp David.
It was a pattern that repeatedly worked and was quite successful.
The ABC moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, have already drawn criticism from Republicans for allegedly showing bias in favor of Harris. Each of them refuted and verified statements made by Trump on many times.
The night’s most notable aspect, though, was Trump’s reactions and his readiness to accept and eat any bait Harris threw at him.
The Democrats’ perception of Harris’s performance in presidential debate on Tuesday night should be clear from that alone.
