Republican Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris are preparing to face off for the first time tonight, in their only scheduled debate of the campaign leading up to the U.S. presidential elections in November. This is a pivotal moment in a tough race, and both candidates seem to be sharpening their knives.
On one hand, former President Donald Trump plans to counterpose the leftist policies Harris proposed during her failed 2020 presidential campaign with the more centrist positions she has adopted now.
“You never know what to expect. She has changed all of her policies over the years,” he said in a phone interview with NBC News.
Harris, on the other hand, hinted that she would highlight Trump’s habit of lying.
“Donald Trump has a serious problem with the truth,” she wrote in a social media post on Tuesday morning. Her campaign published an advertisement featuring former President Barack Obama mocking Trump’s false claims about the crowds at his events.
Harris will also discuss her plans to reduce the everyday expenses of Americans, campaign advisors indicated.
The debate is particularly important for Harris, as polls show that more than a quarter of potential voters feel they do not know her well yet. The debate will give the former attorney general the opportunity to make her case against Trump, whose felony convictions, open support for his supporters convicted for the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, and frequent lies provide fertile ground.
First Meeting
This will be the first time the two candidates meet, following weeks of personal attacks against Harris from Trump and his allies, which included racist and sexist remarks.
Trump’s advisors have urged him to focus on the high levels of inflation and immigration that occurred during Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, although both metrics have decreased significantly this year.
“He is ready to talk about why your life was better when he was in power,” said Lara Trump, the candidate’s daughter-in-law, to CNN.
Presidential debates do not necessarily change voter opinions, but they have the power to shift the dynamics of a race. A stark example is Joe Biden’s recent performance against Trump in June, which proved so disastrous that it ultimately led him to drop out of the race.
In a race that could once again be decided by just a few thousand votes in a handful of states, even the slightest change in the public image of either candidate could influence the outcome. The two candidates are essentially tied in the seven key states that are likely to decide the elections, according to average poll numbers compiled by the New York Times.
“Kamala Harris has more to gain and more to lose,” as she remains less known to many voters, said Mitchell McKinney, a former advisor to the U.S. Presidential Debate Commission.
Viewers will be looking for her positions on various issues. But equally important is that they will want to see how she manages herself against Trump.
Muted Microphones
As agreed by the camps of both candidates, the 90-minute debate, which will be hosted by ABC News, will take place without an audience and with muted microphones – when either of them does not have the floor.
Harris has been preparing in Pittsburgh since Thursday, conducting mock sessions on a stage with lights to replicate the debate environment.
Trump has relied on informal discussions with advisors, campaign appearances, and media interviews – even taking advice from former Democratic Congresswoman and Harris’s “adversary,” Tulsi Gabbard.
In a phone call with reporters, Gabbard stated that Trump would treat Harris like any other opponent.
“President Trump respects women and does not feel the need to be condescending or speak to women differently than he would speak to a man,” she said.
Any personal confrontation is expected to draw viewers’ attention; however, the two rivals are likely to clash on issues of political, social, and economic interest as well.
Abortion has been a top issue for Harris and the Democrats since 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court – with three Trump appointees – overturned the nationwide right to abortion in a highly unpopular decision.
Harris has also tried to link Trump to Project 2025, a conservative political plan proposing the expansion of executive power, the rollback of environmental regulations, and the banning of mailing abortion pills.
Trump has presented shifting rhetoric on abortion while distancing himself from Project 2025, even though many of his former advisors were involved in the effort.
Trump is expected to emphasize Harris’s previous support for more “leftist” positions, portraying her as either indecisive or as a “disguised” extreme liberal.