Last night here in Philadelphia, Vice President Kamala Harris managed to do what few have achieved: she baited former President Donald Trump into off-topic rants and vague policy explanations. The encounter began even before any words were exchanged, as Harris caught Trump off guard by approaching him and offering her hand for the customary pre-debate handshake.
The debate, held at the historic National Constitution Center and hosted by ABC News, marked the first in-person meeting between the two candidates after Trump departed from tradition by not attending the inauguration of his successor in 2021. During the debate, Harris remained focused on the issues, articulating her vision for the future and strategically framing her responses to prompt Trump into diverging off-topic with a series of occasionally baseless tirades.
Throughout the 90-minute debate, Harris maintained a dominant presence over Trump. She labeled him “weak and wrong,” effectively reversing the political adage that “strong and wrong” trumps “weak and right.” Harris not only responded to questions but also skillfully redirected and lured Trump into discussing a variety of issues.
The Vice President managed to irritate Trump, which is often his intention, by claiming that attendees at Trump’s rallies depart early due to exhaustion and boredom. She depicted Trump as disconnected and an unsuccessful businessman who inherited $400 million “on a silver platter” and then declared bankruptcy six times. Trump refused to say that Joe Biden beat him in the 2020 election while Harris shot back those 81 million voters fired him.
Harris discussed policies, highlighting tax breaks for small businesses and parents, and promoting her proposal for a first-time homebuyer’s down payment credit. She consistently emphasized, “I have a plan,” in contrast to Trump, who stated, “I have concepts of a plan,” regarding the replacement of the Affordable Care Act.
For Trump he took viewers on a wild ride as he delved into conspiracies, not only regarding the election but also about the current president (Joe Biden), the unfounded claims about immigrants coming from “mental institutions and insane asylums,” and the baseless and refuted allegations of immigrants “eating dogs” or “cats.”
Ultimately, Harris, stuck to her playbook by using her background as a prosecutor, forcing Trump into a defensive position by systematically dismantling his record and laying traps on a range of issues, from his management of the coronavirus pandemic to abortion, tariffs, immigration, China, national security, and America’s global reputation.
For an individual who claims to be forthright, Trump avoided direct responses and repeated numerous falsehoods from his campaign. He sidestepped a question about supporting Ukraine over Russia, evaded expressing any remorse for his reaction to the events of January 6th, and twice dodged confirming whether he would veto a national abortion ban, as his vice-presidential running mate JD Vance said he would in a Sunday interview with NBC.
As the candidates exited the debate stage, the surge of momentum Harris had gained from initially replacing Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee appeared to be rising once more. Her campaign manager declared her readiness for another debate with Trump, who trudged into the Philadelphia spin room, attempting to alter the unfavorable post-debate narrative that had even Fox News anchors acknowledging Harris as the victor.
Not even Trump’s allies could spin this one, most not even attempting to claim that he won but redirecting their anger to ABC News’ moderators, who were “so in the tank for Harris that it was repulsive,” To clarify, the ABC moderators fact-checked the former president only twice: first, when he claimed that immigrants in Ohio were consuming dogs and cats, which never occurred; and second, when he stated that he lost the election to Joe Biden by a slim margin and later said he was being sarcastic.
On this occasion, the ABC moderator responded to Trump, “I saw the interview, and it didn’t seem sarcastic.” These were the only instances where the former president was fact-checked. It should also be noted that Trump spoke for 54 minutes to Harris 46 in the debate.
“Let’s make no mistake. Trump had a bad night,” Fox News’ Brit Hume conceded. “We just heard so many of the old grievances that we all know aren’t winners politically.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was more blunt: “Disaster” is how he described Trump’s debate performance to The Bulwark’s Tim Miller.
“I’m just sad,” one House Republican told The Hill. “She knew exactly where to cut to get under his skin.”
As for another debate numerous networks have proposed hosting an additional debate, with Trump suggesting his preferred outlet, Fox News. Harris has consented to another debate, yet it appears that Trump is now dissatisfied with Fox News as the host of the event.
On Wednesday, Trump appeared on the morning show “Fox and Friends,” expressing his dissatisfaction with the two moderators proposed by Fox News for an upcoming debate if indeed there is one. Trump dismissed and insulted Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, the two anchors that Fox has pitched as potential debate moderators in October.
“I wouldn’t want to have Bret and Martha,” he said, before proposing Sean Hannity, Jesse Watters or Laura Ingraham instead.’
It is clear that Fox’s prime time personalities, who are more aligned with entertainment than journalism, will not be moderating a general election debate. Therefore, if this is the premise for negotiations, it is unlikely that another debate involving Harris will occur.
Before leaving Philadelphia last night about 20 minutes after the debate ended, international superstar Taylor Swift gave her a long-anticipated endorsement to Harris. Swift, who is single and has two cats, shared her support on Instagram shortly after the debate concluded. She shared the endorsement with her over 300 million followers, providing links to crucial issues and voter registration information. Her support, along with that of fellow global entertainment icon Beyoncé, who is also a Harris supporter, also boasts approximately 300 million Instagram followers, these two megastars could rally enough votes to help Harris win what will be a close election.
This comes as a setback for the Trump-Vance campaign, which, as you may remember, utilized an AI program to fabricate an endorsement from Swift for the former president. Additionally, JD Vance’s comments about “childless cat ladies” leading the Democratic party have incensed many women, including Swift.
Let me be clear while Harris won the debate her goal of beating Trump and becoming this countries first president is far from a sure thing because this race is still way to close to call. But the Trump made a mistake most people didn’t pickup on when asked if supported the Ukraine over Russia, he failed to answer the question saying only he would bring the war to an end before he moved back into the White House.
Harris quickly recognized that Poland is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine, fearing that if Trump permits Russia to annex their neighbors, they might be next. The swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin have significant Polish populations; in fact, Pennsylvania alone boasts 800,000. Harris is expected to target this voting bloc in all three states, which, combined with the support of Taylor Swift’s fanbase, could pave a potential path to victory.