Imposing, articulate, calm, with the ability to communicate “simply and understandably” to the working and middle-class audience. This was supposedly Donald Trump’s great advantage in the debates, both within his party and against Joe Biden. The first debate against Kamala Harris proved that this ease disappears when he faces someone who will not hesitate to laugh at outrageous remarks or to launch a full-frontal attack.
The Democratic candidate displayed a dynamism we had not seen until now. And an irony that, had it been any other opponent, would have seemed excessive, even inappropriate for such a political confrontation. Trump, on the other hand, appeared to want to be more restrained than we are used to, ultimately ending up visibly irritated and, as commented by Reuters, Wall Street Journal, CNN, constantly “taking the bait” thrown by his opponent.
The Democratic presidential candidate surprised the former president of the United States right from her initial move to approach him and… introduce herself. “Kamala Harris. Let’s have a good conversation.” From that moment, she had control and never lost it. She forced Donald Trump to play defense continuously. He was called to defend his felony convictions, his wealth, and his role in the overturning of the federal right to abortion. He heard her call him weak and remind him of his tendency for bizarre statements and conspiracy theories.
LIVE: The critical debate Kamala Harris – Donald Trump minute by minute – All answers and reactions
The Outrageous Claims
It only took a few minutes for Harris to be vindicated. Trump diverted the conversation about immigration and border security into 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 this is happening in our country, and it’s a shame,” Trump said, only to see one of the moderators correct him and Kamala Harris subtly but clearly indicate that she finds his statements… ridiculous.
This moment embodied the former president’s lack of self-restraint and defined a conflict where the Republican candidate was following his opponent’s pace. His strongest argument – why Harris has not done all of these things during her time in the White House, which she promises to do now – he… forgot until the end. In between, he asserted that if Harris were elected – whom he called a Marxist (!), Israel would disappear within two years, and the world would be led into World War III.
The Wrong Tactic and the Strong Card
This was a clear tactical mistake for Trump, who, after the assassination attempt against him, seemed to be charging unstoppable towards the White House, but now he has an opponent who is clearly gaining speed. Harris’s chances of winning the election increased on the PredictIt betting website to 56%, from 53% before the debate. According to Reuters Eikon, the markets give both candidates a 49% chance of winning in the November elections. But before the debate, they gave Trump a 52% chance and Harris a 47% chance.
Even in moments when Trump should have had the advantage, such as issues related to the economy or the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Harris managed to infuriate him enough that his attacks against her were not as effective. We did not hear any substantive program from either of the two. But the victory was clear, and it belongs to Harris.
Her strongest card? She showed, both through what she said and her body language, that she refuses to take her opponent seriously when he does not display seriousness in his statements.