At the end of the 90-minute period it did not look as if Donald Trump had been on a presidential debating stage seven times; and at different stages it looked as if Republicans were repenting for all they said about Joe Biden’s June 27 performance. In Philadelphia, Vice Kamala Harris not only steadied her message but also made sure that she was a decent messenger as well.
Debates do not win a Presidential election, but Tuesday night showed that it could make a difference in a tight contest.
Whether it was on the economy, immigration, abortion, Ukraine, Israel or Afghanistan, Harris made it known where she is coming from, refusing to be pushed around but instead turning the tables on the former President. At one point Trump maintained that Harris was sent to “negotiate” with President Vladimir Putin prior to the invasion of Ukraine. Harris shot back, “… I said it at the beginning of this debate, you’re going to hear a bunch of lies coming from this fella. And that is another one”.
Harris’ toughest and best moments seemed to come when she was cornering the former President on abortion, the term limits, the significance of Roe v Wade and the notion that most Americans wanted the issue to be turned over to the states. The, at times, bizarre characterisation of abortions taking place in the eighth and ninth months or the “execution” of a baby after it is born brought forth a scornful retort from Harris: “It’s insulting to the women of America”.
Failed rhetoric
Trump and his team perhaps totally under-estimated their opponent over and beyond the simplistic notions of a prosecutor vs a convicted felon characterisation. Right from the word go, Harris seemed ready with her vision for America, a place of opportunity for “all” instead of for a chosen few. “Looking Forward” or “Turning a New Page” were themes that were floated by Harris and in what seemed to resonate as opposed to constantly harping on the failed rhetoric of the last four years.
Trump had different occasions to pin down Harris, especially on a perceived shifting policy perspectives on the economy. But the former President fell for the bait and trap set by the Democratic opponent and wandered off, at times, into the realm of nonsense like immigrants in Ohio killing their pets (dogs and cats) and consuming them. All this in spite of the moderator openly saying that it was false. Even Republicans who gleefully started this on social media backed out.
Perhaps the telling moment for Harris came when she was asked to respond to Trump still maintaining that he did not lose in 2020. “… clearly, he is having a very difficult time processing that (2020 election)…And when you then talk in this way in a presidential debate and deny what over and over again are court cases you have lost, because you did in fact lose that election, it leads one to believe that perhaps we do not have in the candidate… the temperament or the ability to not be confused about fact. That’s deeply troubling. And the American people deserve better,” Harris replied.
The Harris camp is clearly elated at the first debate to the extent that it is calling for a second. Trump and his campaign are saying that the call for a second is because the first was lost. Irrespective of whether this materialises, the fact remains that some senior Republicans are not convinced that it was Trump’s good first outing. “Whoever did the debate prep for Donald Trump should be fired… Trump better get to work or he’s going to lose this election,” said former two term New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie.
The writer is a senior journalist who has reported from Washington DC on North America and United Nations