The much-anticipated face-off between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump was less a clash of visions for the future and more a rehash of familiar frustrations. Neither candidate offered voters any clearer policy roadmap, and the evening quickly devolved into a spectacle of fiery rhetoric. Here’s a closer look at the key takeaways from a debate that underscored just how stuck the 2024 election season remains.
1. Expect Limited Policy Proposals
Ahead of the debate Vice President Kamala Harris had faced backlash amongst undecided voters for her scant policy ideas. She didn’t change course for Tuesday’s debate. On economy, which is the most important issue for voters and the first topic, Ms. Harris dodged questions on whether Americans were better off now than they were under President Donald Trump and instead targeted “what was left for us” by her opponent, citing the COVID-19 Pandemic. Mr. Trump was no better at detailing proposals as he dismissed questions on how he would carry out mass deportation programs, preserve clean water, or if he wanted Ukraine to win its war with Russia. He did, however, say what he didn’t want implemented: Project 2025, which he said he “hadn’t read” and assumed was “some good, some bad”.
2. The Calm Donald is Gone
After Donald Trump’s chaotic first debate in 2020 widely irritated Americans, he tried a more restrained, cooler-headed approach this election season. It seemed for a moment after his “Make America United Again” platform following the attempt on his life that a less divisive version of the ex-president was being marketed. Tuesday changed things. An exasperated Mr. Trump was seen yelling in the mic and constantly berating his opponent. At one now infamous point he angrily echoed the now-disproven conspiracy theory that immigrants “are eating the pets” in Springfield. As he grew clearly more vexed throughout the night, he continued to falsely claim that the 2020 election was rigged, blamed the January 6th riot on former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, accused some Democrats execute infants after birth, and said “either one is fine” after casting doubt a month earlier on whether Kamala Harris was truly biracial.
3. Kamala Harris is no Joe Biden
President Joe Biden’s debate performance against Donald Trump in 2024 has been regarded as one of the weakest in history as he was easily angered, failed to defend his own record or attack his opponent’s falsehoods, and generally struggled to finish his sentences. Kamala Harris did mostly the opposite on Tuesday as she managed to flip the script on Mr. Trump while discussing immigration and foreign policy, two topics widely regarded as the Biden administration’s weakest points of discussion. Instead of raging out at Mr. Trump, as President Biden had done, Ms. Harris calmly baited the Republican into fits of anger. She hit nearly all of his nerves, from her numerous endorsements from conservatives like Dick Cheney to suggesting that his supporters leave his rallies due to “boredom and exhaustion”. Almost every time, he bit down.
4. It was Kamala’s Night
Debating a president as unpredictable as Donald Trump has been a puzzle for even the most seasoned politicians. Hillary Clinton seemed baffled by him in every way in 2016, while in 2020 and 2024 Joe Biden was easily angered. But on Tuesday Kamala Harris landed every right punch, viewing him as neither some hopeless dolt or as a big bully who needs equal aggression, but rather as a ticking time bomb who can explode once you light the right fuse. Mr. Trump’s pet-eating comments have solidified themselves alongside other infamous debate gaffes (James Stockdale’s “Who am I? What am I doing?” and Rick Perry’s “Oops”), yet after some skillful provocation from Ms. Harris he provided a full treasure trove of other quotes prone to ridicule. The vice president stumbled early on during the economy segment by not mentioning inflation, and she might still be keeping an entire nation in the dark about her policy agenda, but in a political era where debates (and elections, for that matter) are about who’s worse rather than who’s better, Ms. Harris solidified herself as an easy alternative.
Rhanor Gillette is a political correspondant for the Opinion, and lives in Livermore, California.
