Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump debate for the first time on Sept. 10. It is the highest-stakes event to date for both candidates. In a race this close, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the outcome in November could rest on how this 90-minute debate goes. Traditionally the viewership is the highest for the first debate between opponents as well, so this is the big one.
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I debated Harris five times during the primary season of 2020, literally standing next to her several of those evenings. To say that I debated her is a little bit misleading though—she and I never got into a direct argument as it never made sense for either of us to be attacking the other. We had a good, friendly relationship on the campaign trail, and Harris was generally focused on the candidates above her, most notably Joe Biden in the first debate. I was focused on trying to get my message out and keep the campaign going; I tended to get less airtime than other candidates because I got fewer questions and generally played nice.
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So, what would I say about Harris as a debater? She gets high marks for poise and being able to recall and deliver messages. She prefers to use notes, which makes sense given her legal background—she used the time before the moderators got started to reproduce notes on the notepaper we were given. (Note: I did the exact same thing.) She certainly has the stamina for a 90-minute debate. She’ll expect hostility from Trump, and I expect her to be steady and strong. She was taken by surprise by Tulsi Gabbard’s pointed and persistent attacks four years ago but there will be no surprise here. Outside of the primaries, she debated former Vice President Mike Pence four years ago, and I thought that she was clear and composed throughout.
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Trump’s debate style, on the other hand, is based on appearance and attacks—he’ll stand there and run down his opponent. He’s pugnacious, spontaneous and not overly substantive; some of what he says won’t necessarily make sense or be true. He’s a performer. The main way to prepare to face him is to load up with substance to be able to confidently call out his record and his misrepresentations and to match his energy. It’s particularly important to come in strong at the beginning when viewership is highest, and the tone is set. I would literally be playing pump-up music and have Harris prepare for a prizefight. I’d also give her a bit of time away from the trail to make sure that her energy is high.
A lot of debate prep is memorizing 90-second responses to questions on different subject areas: foreign policy, economy, immigration, health care, education, etc. Harris’ team has been preparing her for the debate for weeks, including mock debates with an experienced Trump stand-in. I’m sure she’s had talking points accompanying her on the campaign trail to study and that recalling them won’t be an issue. The truth is that when you’re campaigning, you’re often on a bus or a plane and either calling people or studying notes. She’s had plenty of opportunity to get the substance down.
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That said, I was a little bit surprised that some of these talking points weren’t more clearly evident in her recent CNN interview. You can often pick up on debate prep in interviews, because if someone has been memorizing paragraphs in response to various cues they will naturally utilize them when asked any related question.
Harris will benefit from the visual—she is 19 years younger than Trump and looks like it. She is almost always clearer and more coherent. For her, the main issue is to come across as presidential and commanding for 90 minutes. If she does this, she’ll have a good night.
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Trump, on the other hand, could stand to demonstrate some self-control and that he’s still sharp. President Joe Biden’s performance in June was so abysmal that Trump benefited from the contrast. He won’t have that advantage against Harris.
Which candidate has more to gain or lose? It’s clearly Harris. Trump is a known quantity, while for many Americans Harris is still new and introducing herself. Can people see her as president? Are the memes of her delivering faulty responses simply internet fodder that she can dismiss with a strong performance? If she is resolute, confident and unflappable for 90 minutes against Trump she’ll be in a much stronger position.
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Some debates don’t change a race that much; viewers simply think that the candidate they prefer did great. This race remains neck-and-neck, and the debate is the most important night for both campaigns. The last debate knocked a candidate out. Will history be made on Tuesday night?
If I were advising Harris’ team, the main thing I would emphasize is to give her the chance to do whatever she finds most rejuvenating the day before and the day of the debate to make sure she is feeling good, energized, and ready to go. Make it so she’s happy to be there to take it to Trump.
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Campaigns have a tendency to overwork candidates—Biden showed up to the first debate under the weather and overprepared, and was reduced to grasping for factoids that were clearly eluding him.
I had a bad night my first debate, so my team switched gears from having me do interviews the day before to me shooting hoops with friends. My performance went up, so we stuck with that as a new routine for debate day for the next five debates. It made me happier to be on the stage because I would have had a good, invigorating day the day before.
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Harris struck me as a bit worn down during her CNN interview. And she has never met Trump face-to-face, so it will feel awkward and uncomfortable. I have the sense that her team is treating everything as a sprint given the compressed time frame and her relative youth. That would be a mistake. Harris will have to bring a much higher level of energy next Tuesday than she did for the joint interview with her vice-presidential pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. After all, Joe Biden didn’t get a second debate this season. Harris and her team should approach this as if it’s the only debate of the year, because it might as well be.
