Imposing, balanced, cool, with ease and a way of saying things “simple and understandable” in the working and middle class world. This should be his greatest asset. Donald Trump in debates against their opponents in debate both intra-party and those with Joe Biden. The first debate against Kamala Harris has proven that this comfort is lost when he finds himself in front of someone who will not hesitate to laugh at outrageous characterizations and troll him or make a frontal attack.
The Democratic candidate showed a dynamism that we have never seen before. And ironically, if she had anyone else ahead of her, this would seem excessive, even inappropriate for this type of political confrontation. Trump, on the other hand, seemed to want to be more restrained than we are used to seeing him, only to end up visibly irritated and, as commented by Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and CNN, constantly “taking” the bait thrown by his opponent.
The Democratic presidential candidate surprised the former US president even with her initial move of stepping up to her own podium to… introduce herself. “Kamala Harris. Let’s have a good discussion.” From that moment on, she had control of the conversation and never lost it. She forced Donald Trump to play constant defense. He was called upon to defend his criminal convictions, his property, and his role in the overturning of federal abortion rights. She heard him call him weak and mention his penchant for outlandish statements and conspiracy theories.
The outrageous claims
It took only a few minutes for Harris to be vindicated. Trump diverted the debate on immigration and border security to outrageous claims about undocumented immigrants who, he said, were eating people’s pets in a suburb of Ohio. “The people who came in are eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people who live there. And that’s what’s happening in our country and it’s a shame,” Trump said, only to have not only one of the moderators correct him, but also Kamala Harris to indirectly but clearly show him that she thinks what he’s saying is… ridiculous.
The moment epitomized the former president’s lack of self-control and set up a showdown in which the Republican candidate kept pace with his opponent. His strongest argument—why Harris hasn’t done all those years in the White House, what she’s promising now—he… left until the end. However, he did claim that if Harris—whom he called a Marxist (!)—were elected, Israel would disappear within two years and the world would plunge into World War III.
The wrong tactic and the strong card
It was a clear tactical error by Trump, who after the assassination attempt seemed to be on an unstoppable run towards the White House but now has an opponent who is clearly picking up speed. Harris’s chances of winning the election have risen on betting site PredictI to 56%, up from 53% before the debate. The markets, according to Reuters Eikon, give both candidates a 49% chance of winning the November election. But before the debate they gave Trump a 52% chance and Harris a 47%.
Even at times when Trump should have had the upper hand, such as on the economy or the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Harris managed to anger him enough that his attacks on her were not as effective. We heard no substantive agenda from either of them. But the victory was clear, and it belongs to Harris.
Her strongest card? She showed both in what she said and in her body language that she refuses to take her opponent seriously when he doesn’t show seriousness in his statements.