Chicago Voters Weigh In on Tomorrow’s Presidential Debate

Chicago residents express opinions about debate and presidential candidates

Vice President Kamala Harris will debate Donald Trump tomorrow night at 9:00pm ESTPhoto byGage Skidmore/flickr [CC BY-SA 2.0]

CHICAGO - On July 21 President Biden ended his campaign for re-election quickly announcing support for his Vice President Kamala Harris. Just 12 days later, Jaime Harrison, the Democratic National Committee Chair, announced that Harris had received enough votes from delegates to secure the nomination of the Democratic National Party. Since that point, the country has watched to see how this historic battle between Harris and GOP nominee Donald Trump, will play out. Tomorrow night will be the first and possibly only direct match up between the two candidates in the form of a debate.

There has been much discussion about the upcoming debate, some of it based on the candidates previous performances, while others centered on candidates’ positions on major policy issues. The teams for the two candidates also took time agreeing to the rules for the debate. As the September 2020 presidential debate involved Trump continuously interrupting Biden, causing it to devolve into chaos with the candidates trying to talk over each other as Biden attempted to get a word in edgewise, subsequent debates involving Trump included mic muting, an attempt at maintaining control. This means that a candidate’s mic will only be on when it is their turn to answer.

Other agreed upon rules for the debate include only the moderators being allowed to ask the candidates questions such that they cannot address each other. The structure will allow candidates two minutes to answer a question, two minutes to respond to the other candidate’s answer with an additional minute allotted for clarifications or follow-ups. There will be no opening statements, but they will be allowed a two minute closing statement. Candidates cannot bring in any notes although they can take notes during the debate. There will be no audience.

When asked who they thought the debate rules would favor, residents seemed to mostly agree.

“Donald Trump, obviously,” Anna O. of Rogers Park said. “The muted mic bit will definitely help him [Trump] and hurt her [Harris]. Otherwise, he’d go completely off track, especially if he felt attacked and the country would again see him as the lunatic he is.”

Jack I. of Humbolt Park agreed. “The rules favor Trump as they’ll help him look like he’s in control. Otherwise, he’ll talk over her [Harris] saying whatever he wants to, regardless of whether it has anything to do with the question and the moderators will never be able to keep control. It’ll be like trying to stop a runaway train.”

Frank E. of Edgewater said the structure will likely hinder the Vice President. “Since they can’t address each other directly, his [Trump’s] tendency to personally attack his opponent and her ability to directly correct his lies and object to the way he is characterizing the issues.”

ABC News who will be hosting the debate has issued a statement saying that if there is cross talk between the two it could decide to turn the mics on such that viewers can understand what they are saying or one of the moderators could explain what is being said. The reporters who will be in the studio during the debate will also be able to report on what they heard being said by the candidates if they speak while their mics are turned off.

As for who will win the debate, Chicago residents were somewhat split. Several people remarked on Harris’s CNN interview, in regards to her seeming to reverse her position on several policies.

Isadore J. from West Rogers Park remarked that where she stands on Israel and Gaza has completely changed. “Harris has a problem changing her mind about things and that won’t help her any during the debate. She spoke unequivocally at the DNC and during that interview about supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, that she won’t be changing policy regarding aid and weapons. Then there’s a report she would consider putting conditions on aid to Israel to bring an end to the war. Those aren’t entirely the same thing.”

Layla T. from Irving Park had similar sentiments. “She’s [Harris’s] wishy washy. She seems to go with whichever way the wind is blowing. One second, she wants to ban fracking, and the next she pledges to support it. You can’t care about climate change and support fracking. Their opposites.”

Some voters remarked on Harris’s sudden shift regarding the border and immigration policy.

“Harris was all for decriminalizing the border. Now she wants to extend the wall and make it harder for people to get in?” asked Nate P. from the South Side. Don’t get me wrong here. I don’t think it’s right for people to just walk in illegally and be given what our community has been asking for over years and years. But if she completely changes her opinion on that how can we trust her not to change it on other things? That’s not something she can hide tomorrow night. Even if she sounds like what we want, how do we know she really is?”

From the residents surveyed there seemed to be somewhat more confidence that Harris is more likely to win the debate tomorrow. But several said there are factors which could lead to her losing such as her reticence to attack Trump while he has no such reservations, and the possibility of him throwing her off her game with arguments and interruptions that occur out of earshot of viewers despite the agreed upon rules. Some felt that if she isn’t able to use Trumps outbursts against him, he may very well be able to use them against her and triumph in the end.

Tomorrow’s debate will air at 9:00pm EST on ABC with a pre-debate special beginning at 8:00pm. The debate will last for 90 minutes and will be followed by a post-debate analysis.