On September 10th, in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center, the first Presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump took place.
Everyone knew that this debate was a big deal for both candidates. Anyone on the fence between Harris and Trump was likely going to choose their option for president based on the candidates’ performances.
After viewing the debate for ninety minutes, it’s safe to say that Harris significantly outperformed Trump in almost every way.
First off, the way she spoke. Her words were calm, and measured. She laid out her policies with a cool head. When she spoke, she either looked directly into the camera to address the American people or stared down Trump, who refused to exchange eye contact at any point.
Trump, on the other hand, was more rattled with his words. He seemed more concerned with defending himself against Harris’s blows, than answering the questions asked by moderators Lindsey Davis and David Muir.
Another way Harris outperformed Trump was by how she composed herself. When the two candidates walked onto the stage, she walked over to her opponent to shake his hand and introduce herself.
During the debate, she showed respect for the moderators, took notes the entire time, and listened intently to what Trump had to say, reacting to some of his ridiculous claims and attacks with bewildered smirks.
In sharp contrast, the former president continuously interrupted the moderators and seemingly stared into space while Harris talked. The only times he would really pay attention was when Harris would say something detrimental about him. This put him on the defensive for almost the entirety of the debate, which is not a good position to be in, especially when dealing with a former prosecutor like Harris.
The Vice President’s strategy also just completely worked out in her favor. She wanted to bait him to fly off the handle and say something outrageous. And Trump graciously delivered, making numerous false claims that were fact-checked by ABC News and CNN officials after the debate. One of these is notably the following: “They’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the pets,” when referring to Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.
This is especially laughable because Trump’s team lobbied for the microphones to be muted during the debate, so something like this wouldn’t happen. Unfortunately for them, the former president was quite resourceful in his own debate destruction.
It seems that Trump has not yet gotten the memo that these conspiracy theories he pulls off of his ‘Truth Social’ platform aren’t appealing to the general voting body, and really only cater to his extremist right-wing devotees, who were bound to vote for him no matter the outcome of the debate.
If Trump really did want to pull in a new pool of voters, especially young voters or those undecided, it would be wise to fact-check his claims before announcing them in front of the entire country. Now, he just seems like that crazy conspiracy uncle everyone has, and unfortunately has to interact with every year on Thanksgiving.
Overall, this debate was a major success for Harris and her campaign. Her strategy worked out entirely in her favor, and Trump fell right into the trap. He knows this too, desperately trying to clean up his mess by now claiming that the moderators were working in Harris’s favor. But that’s what Trump does when he loses, and we saw that during the 2020 election when he claimed it was fixed, despite being disproved by officials.
While this debate can’t possibly determine the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election, it gives voters a good idea of who their candidates are, and whether they are fit to be in office. Many undecided voters will likely cast their vote for Harris after her performance, but only time will tell as we move toward the election in November.
