Vice-President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump faced off on Tuesday evening in a much-anticipated debate and the first in-person meeting of the two politicians. In the high-stakes encounter, the two standard bearers outlined competing visions for the next four years.
The debate in Pennsylvania, a crucial must-win state for both camps occurred with many high-flying moments, lending us an array of soundbites from which to come away to several takeaways. We boiled them down to five.
VP Harris wants to be President. She played the part.
Vice-President Harris made it a point to remind everyone that she had the temperament and composure to President of the United States. When both candidates were introduced on stage, she reached across the stage to shake hands with a more scripted Donald Trump who had no intentions of initiating the move himself. The Democratic Nominee introduced herself as ‘Kamala Harris’ and returned to her lectern where she delivered answers, demonstrating her high-level understanding of topical issues in the U.S.
Contrasting herself with Trump, she called his politics “tired, old and weak” and pledged she was going to “chart a new way forward”. The veep’s responses proved to the audience that she was ready on Day 1 to run the U.S government.
Trump missed goal scoring opportunities
Pardon the sports metaphor. Former President Donald Trump is running from opposition, yet, it did not look the part watching the debate. He failed to press the incumbent Vice-President on issues where the administration fell short.
His attacks on Harris on the economy and immigration, his terrains, were not particularly effective and when he attempted to hit her on the immigration surge in the country, he veered into a social media generated talking point egged on by his running mate, JD Vance that immigrants were eating the pets of Americans in their communities.
Trump said at one point, “She is Biden,” prompting the Vice-President to reply, “I’m not Joe Biden. I’m not Donald Trump.” She then pivoted to her campaign pitch that she offered a “new generation of leadership for our country”.
It was not until the closing statements that Trump landed one of the most stinging attacks on Harris’s candidacy: Why hasn’t she done the things she is promising now? It did come. But it came too late.
Contrasting goals for Ukraine
The visions of the two candidates could not have been clearer on foreign policy especially on the War in Ukraine. While Kamala Harris pledged a continued commitment to the defence of Ukraine, Donald Trump stopped short of that, saying that he wanted the war “to stop”. He highlighted his relationships the Russian and Ukrainian leaders as a launchpad of reaching a peace deal between the two sides.
Trump insisted he was bothered about the numerous killings that had bedeviled the region and criticised Harris for failing to get a peace deal done although she had met President Zelensky of Ukraine few days to the Russian invasion.
On her part, Harris insisted she would coordinate with US allies in Europe in standing up against aggression.
Trump would not look at Harris.
Right from the word go, it was clear Trump had made up his mind. He was not going to look at the Vice-President’s direction lest he met eyes with hers. It was clear he did a great job of not looking. He trained his eyes at the moderators and his jibes at Harris were accompanied only by gestures which involved so much pointing at her direction.
Harris did not mind. She looked at the man who is almost a foot taller than her when excoriating him and his policies. She told Trump a number of military generals had called him a “disgrace” and questioned some of his controversial statements, all the while looking six feet to the Republican behind the other lectern.
The Harris strategy worked
You would think that the Vice-President came to the debate stage purposely to discuss issues that matter to the American public. If only. There was a hatched scheme by the Democrat to rile Trump up. Harris had to make Trump so angry that he goes off on a racist or sexist tangent or even better, talk about his crowd sizes. She succeeded. The Vice-President placed the political bait by taunting Donald Trump about his rally attendance. Trump, to the delight of the Democrat and disappointment of his team, took it right up. He went on and on about his crowd sizes in a loud tone which never receded after that moment.
Harris’s open ridicule made the former commander-in-chief furious and although he steered clear of unpleasant attacks on her person, it was apparent that he had been triggered.
Fact-checking is Trump’s kryptonite
In the CNN debate with Joe Biden, the absence of fact-checking in real time as part of pre-agreements between the two participating campaigns allowed Trump to thrive. He spoke freely delivering submissions riddled with half-truths, untruths and exaggerations. It was not the case this time. He got fact-checked at least twice including one on a claim that immigrants were eating people’s cats.
Republicans were generally unhappy with the fact-checking, calling the debate a 3-1 bout against Donald Trump where the two moderators sided with Harris.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Mitchell Asare Amoamah
