Trump-Harris Debate: High on Optics, Low on Substance
Trump Overshadowed by Harris, Misses Key Opportunities but Avoids Knockout Blow
by Marco Vicenzino
September 11 2024
U.S. presidential debates are generally more about perceptions and less about actual substance. This proved true again in the highly anticipated first, and possibly, last debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Although Harris outperformed Trump in a duel high on hype and optics and short on real policy discussion, she did not inflict any fatal knockout blows.
It is important to judge a debate within the context of expectations. As Harris remained largely scripted and shielded from media scrutiny since the start of her campaign in late July, the debate marked the most critical event in her political career. After 90 minutes, she left the podium largely achieving what she needed to in order to remain competitive in the race and continue building momentum. In her pursuit of the presidency, this is by far Harris’s most definitive moment yet. She managed to convey her basic message with more clarity to a critical segment of voters who are still undecided.
From an optical perspective, Harris largely maintained composure throughout the debate as she gave and took punches. By remaining calm, cool and collective in the crossfire, she emitted a sense of control which is key to the perception of leadership.
Furthermore, Harris was able to prod Trump on several occasions, particularly on issues such as crowd numbers at his rallies and the 2020 election results. It heightened the perception of a former president fixated on past grievances. In addition, Trump often veered unnecessarily into tangents and details that could lead others to question his sense of focus and balance.
From a substantive perspective, Harris failed to answer many key questions . The lack of greater scrutiny will inevitably call into question the partiality of the debate’s two moderators. However, Trump often failed to seize upon these gaps and missed valuable opportunities to attack Harris coherently on key issues, particularly on immigration and inflation.
Since Biden’s exit from the race, Trump has been struggling to articulate his lines of attack against Harris. It continued during the debate. Failure to reverse could prove fatal to his campaign.
Overall, Harris had a good night. However, it remains questionable whether the debate’s outcome alone will result in any dramatic polling shift or break the current electoral stalemate in the key swing states that will determine the U.S. election.
Furthermore, any attempt to compare this match to President Joe Biden’s debate implosion against Trump on June 27th does not hold ground. Despite talk of a second Trump-Harris debate in early October, it may not happen. The road to election day on November 5th is full of twists and turns that can alter course at any given moment. Fasten your seat belts and continue to expect the unexpected.
(This article was published in Italy’s Formiche and Latin America’s El Nacional)