You know that saying about car crashes? That they’re so bad you can’t look away? That is what the presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump felt like. Before the debate, I predicted that Trump would be left floundering in this debate given his recent behavior and inability to find his footing with Harris as his opponent, and I was correct. This was Trump’s worst debate yet.
From the moment the candidates stepped onto the stage, the difference was clear. Harris crossed to Trump’s side of the stage confidently and initiated a handshake. It was an instant show of authority and power as well as showing that she wouldn’t be entertaining any of Trump’s typical petty antics.
As soon as the debate started, this show of authority continued with Harris letting the American people know exactly who she was. A practical middle-class woman with a plan for our economy, who puts the priorities of working-class Americans first rather than millionaires and the 1%. Trump’s retort? To his credit, he did have a few words about the economy, but in about a minute he was back to his typical spew of fear-mongering hate speech.
“You look at Springfield, Ohio. You look at Aurora in Colorado. They are taking over the towns. They’re taking over buildings. They’re going in violently. These people that [Harris] and Biden let into our country. And they’re destroying our country. They’re dangerous,” Trump said about undocumented immigrants coming into this country, despite the question being about the economy.
At this point, I was already exasperated. I firmly believe in civil conversation about political communication. Trump’s fear-mongering propaganda is disgusting to witness, and this debate was full of it.
Harris, on the other hand, was a pleasure to watch. While not a perfect performance, she outperformed Trump using this debate to establish who she was to the American people. On the question of abortion where she said: “A survivor of a crime, a violation to their body, does not have the right to decide what happens to their body next. That is immoral. One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree on the government, and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body.” She established where her priorities were and came off sounding much better than Trump in every conceivable measure.
Not that Trump needed any help in making himself look ridiculous as he spewed lies and false facts like a waterfall. My personal favorite is him claiming undocumented immigrants in prison were receiving “transgender surgeries.” If any hope remained for Trump’s ability to perform any sort of leadership, he put the final nail in the coffin during this debate. His ability to trip and fall on his face was almost impressive.
This debate was a slaughter, and anyone who thinks Trump got even close to winning needs a rewatch.
Do I think this was as bad as Biden’s performance at the first debate of this race? No. However, I do think this debate was telling about how the rest of the presidential race will go. Harris dominated Trump and will continue to for the rest of this race.
