This column first appeared in The Amendment, a biweekly newsletter by Errin Haines, The 19th’s editor-at-large. Subscribe today to get early access to future Election 2024 analysi s.
Everything we needed to know about what would happen at Tuesday night’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump — their first-ever meeting — was clear within 30 seconds of them taking the stage.
Harris walked directly up to Trump, extended her hand and leaned in, even after it was clear that he had no intention of greeting her. In introducing herself, Harris pronounced her name, “COMMA-LA,” clearly and correctly, leaving him no excuses to ever mispronounce it again.
Harris was confident, in control and in command of the night.
Gender dynamics were on display for much of the high-stakes debate, which Trump spent showing and telling his brand of masculinity to voters. He was divisive, demeaning and distracting, much of his behavior a reminder of his four years in office and his continued words and actions on the campaign trail. During most of the 90-minute exchange, he ignored the two Black women on stage — avoiding eye contact with Harris and rarely addressing moderator Linsey Davis — intentionally choosing to largely engage the only other White man present, moderator David Muir.
When Harris addressed Trump, she referred to him respectfully as “the former president.” But at no point did he address Harris by her first or last name, nor by her title. Instead, Trump made frequent references to “her boss” when mentioning President Joe Biden in an effort to diminish Harris’ leadership and agency.
The candidates’ microphones were muted while their opponents spoke, a rule set when Biden was the candidate and one that Harris unsuccessfully fought to reverse. But her facial expressions, ranging from exhausted to incredulous to amused, did the talking as an often scowling Trump made various false statements on abortions and infanticide , immigrants eating pets in Midwestern communities and his repeated claim that he won the 2020 election.
He tried to control the stage — and at times attempted to dominate Harris. “I’m talking now, if you don’t mind, please. Does that sound familiar?” Trump said sarcastically at one point when Harris attempted to interject, referencing Harris saying “I’m speaking” to Vice President Mike Pence in a 2020 debate after he tried to interrupt her. Toward the end of the debate, Trump essentially tried to shush her again, simply saying, “Quiet, please,” during an answer on how he would handle the war on Russia.
There was also no live audience at the debate, but the audience Harris was speaking to was clear. She had two goals on Tuesday: to speak directly to voters who may just be learning about her candidacy, which is still barely 50 days old, and to expose Trump to viewers, reminding them of his temperament and tone.
She did both with a smile and a laugh, which he has also ridiculed, while using Trump’s own tactics to draw him out. When asked a question about immigration — a thorny issue for her as vice president — Harris’ response quickly shifted the subject from one that inflames voters to one that inflamed Trump: his rallies, and in particular, the implication that his crowds are starting to dwindle.
“He’s going to talk about immigration a lot tonight even when it’s not the subject that is being raised,” Harris said before proceeding to change the topic herself.
“I’m going to invite you to attend one of Donald Trump’s rallies because it’s a really interesting thing to watch,” Harris said. “What you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom. And I will tell you the one thing you will not hear him talk about is you.”
Instead of responding to Harris’ claims that Trump intentionally sabotaged federal legislation to reform immigration or attacking her record on the issue, Trump impulsively launched into a defense of his rallies before repeating a bizarre, racist and false claim that Haitian immigrants are eating pets in small-town communities across the country. Contrast shown.
Heading into Tuesday night, Trump had referred to his opponent as “crazy,” “dumb,” “crooked,” a liar, “grossly incompetent,” “low IQ” and “weak.” While it was initially unclear whether he would show his contempt for Harris on stage, he was ultimately unable to resist.
By the end of the night, Harris shut down every stereotype he has tried to pin on her. When he doubled down on questioning her Blackness, Harris pointed to the response as part of a stale playbook rooted in racism and sexism that should be a relic of our politics.
Ahead of the debate, Trump insisted on Truth Social that “no boxes or artificial lifts” be allowed during the debate for the shorter Harris, implying that to do so would be a form of cheating. In the end, it was the former president, almost a foot taller than Harris, who came across as smaller.
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