Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are veering sharply in how they gear up for Tuesday’s presidential debate, setting up a showdown that reflects not just two separate visions for the country but two politicians who approach big moments very differently.
Harris spent the weekend cloistered in a historic hotel in downtown Pittsburgh where she focused on honing crisp two-minute answers, per the debate’s rules.
Meanwhile, Trump has publicly dismissed the value of studying for the debate. The former president is choosing instead to fill his days with campaign-related events.
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Here’s the latest:
What the Trump-Clinton debates might tell us about Trump’s approach with Harris
He claimed she would raise taxes and accused her of supporting open border policies that would allow an influx of unvetted migrants into the country. He blamed her for a litany of the current administration’s failures and cast her potential presidency as four more years of the same.
Donald Trump wasn’t facing Vice President Kamala Harris. It was Hillary Clinton on the debate stage.
As Trump and Harris prepare to debate for the first — and potentially only — time Tuesday, his three meetings with Clinton in 2016 illustrate the challenges facing both candidates in what is again shaping up to be an extremely close election.
Harris will face a skilled and experienced debater who excels at rattling his rivals with a barrage of insults and interruptions, while projecting unflappable confidence and conviction.
And Trump will be up against a longtime prosecutor known for landing pointed punches. He again faces a woman who would become the country’s first female president and must contend with the underlying gender dynamics at play.
▶ Read more about what the Trump-Clinton debate says about Trump’s style
Harris campaign plans for aggressive outreach in swing states after the debate
Vice President Kamala Harris plans a four-day campaign trip through major swing states after the Democrat’s debate Tuesday with Republican Donald Trump.
Her “New Way Forward” tour will include a new television spot, rallies, canvassing events and programs designed to target important voting groups, the campaign said Sunday, adding that the tour will culminate at the start of Hispanic Heritage Month on Sept. 15.
In a tight race against the former president, the Harris campaign sees itself as having the room to persuade voters before focusing more intently on turnout with the beginning of early voting before the Nov. 5 election. Trump has also stepped up his outreach with rallies and interviews in seemingly friendly forums.
▶ Read more about Harris’s post-debate plans
Little debate that Pennsylvania is key as Harris and Trump prep for Philly showdown
When Donald Trump and Kamala Harris meet onstage Tuesday night in Philadelphia, they’ll both know there’s little debate that Pennsylvania is critical to their chances of winning the presidency.
The most populous presidential swing state has sided with the winner of the past two elections, each time by just tens of thousands of votes. Polling this year suggests Pennsylvania will be close once more in November.
A loss in the state will make it difficult to make up the electoral votes elsewhere to win the presidency. Trump and Harris have been frequent visitors in recent days — Harris plans to return Friday — and the former president was speaking in Butler County on July 14 when he was the target of an assassination attempt.
The stakes may be especially high for Harris: No Democrat has won the White House without Pennsylvania since 1948.
▶ Read more about Pennsylvania’s role in this election
What Harris’ past debates say about her potential approach to Trump
From her earliest campaigns in California to her serving as President Joe Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris has honed an aggressive but calibrated approach to debates.
She tries to blend punch lines with details that build toward a broader narrative. She might shake her head to signal her disapproval while her opponent is speaking, counting on viewers to see her reaction on a split screen.
And she has a go-to tactic to pivot debates back in her favor: saying she’s glad to answer a question as she gathers her thoughts to explain an evolving position or defend a past one.
▶ Read more about Harris’ debate style
In new Harris ad, former Trump officials warn of dangers if he gets a second term
A new Harris campaign ad airing running on Fox News on the day of the presidential debate features former Trump officials warning of what they say are the dangers of a second Donald Trump presidency.
The ad is running in Philadelphia and West Palm Beach, Florida — where Trump lives — on Tuesday.
It features clips from former Vice President Mike Pence saying he would not be endorsing Trump. Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley all warn against the Republican.
The presidential debate begins at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday on ABC.
Look out for wild card Trump
If you ask Trump’s previous debate opponents what they’re watching for on Tuesday night — and we did — many say the same thing: Look out for the thing he says or does that Harris can’t possibly prepare for.
Trump is the ultimate wild card who’s found tremendous political success by ignoring the traditional rules of politics. He will say or do whatever he thinks is best in the moment. And Harris, who has dedicated several days to debate prep, can’t make a plan for everything.
At this point, it’s hard to imagine Trump surprising anyone with new material. He has praised dictators, talked about genitalia size, suggested suspending the U.S. Constitution and said that Harris only recently “turned Black.”
Trump’s own team doesn’t know what he’ll do or say on any given day. That’s incredibly risky for Trump. But it also puts enormous pressure on Harris.
Abortion vs Immigration
Republicans hope Trump makes immigration a defining issue of the debate.
The GOP has effectively condemned the Biden administration’s handling of illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border for much of the last four years.
Harris will be eager to remind voters that Trump helped kill a bipartisan immigration bill that would have done much to fix the problem. But overall, Harris is likely to be on the defensive when the issue comes up.
Democrats, meanwhile, want to focus on abortion.
Trump, of course, appointed three Supreme Court justices who later overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that protected a woman’s right to choose abortion. Trump has repeatedly said he was proud that Roe was defeated. But aware that such a view isn’t popular among many women, he has tried to moderate his stance on the divisive issue.
Harris won’t make that easy. Stating the obvious, as a woman, she is positioned to be a much more effective messenger on the issue than Biden was. And Trump can’t afford to lose many more female voters.
Body language matters
There will, of course, be an obvious gender dynamic on stage Tuesday night.
The candidates — who have never met in person before — will be expected to stay behind their podiums on Tuesday night. But Republicans are hopeful Trump will avoid any other provocations like pointing, yelling or otherwise approaching Harris in a way that might be off-putting to suburban women or other swing voters.
Harris, too, will face unique challenges related to her race and gender as voters consider whether to make her the nation’s first female president. Some voters still say they’re not comfortable with the idea. If she comes across as angry, she risks playing into racist tropes about Black women.
While the gender dynamic looms, do not underestimate the significance of their age difference, either.
Harris is almost two decades younger than the 78-year-old Trump. Age was viewed as a political advantage for Trump when he was facing the 81-year-old Biden, but the situation is now reversed against the 59-year-old Harris. If he wins, Trump would be the oldest U.S. president ever elected.
