Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump are set to face off in a debate Tuesday night in what could be a pivotal moment in the campaign leading up to the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election.
The candidates have never met each other or even talked on the phone, but on Tuesday they will be standing a short distance from each other behind lecterns at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. They are set to trade barbs with each other for 90 minutes while answering questions posed by two ABC News anchors, David Muir and Linsey Davis.
Tens of millions of Americans are likely to watch what could be the only debate of the campaign. The event takes place eight weeks before the official Election Day but only days ahead of when early voting starts in some of the country’s 50 states.
National polling shows the contest to be close, making it all the more crucial for both candidates to make their best case in the debate for the small number of voters who haven’t already made up their mind. At stake, returning Trump to the White House after he lost reelection in 2020 to President Joe Biden or elevating Harris, Biden’s second-in-command.
Democrats quickly coalesced around Harris’ candidacy when Biden dropped his reelection bid in July after a stumbling debate against Trump in late June and endorsed Harris as his successor. While Biden trailed Trump when he ended his campaign, Harris has edged ahead of Trump in numerous national polls by 2 or 3 percentage points.
A New York Times-Siena College poll released Sunday showed Trump with a 48-47% lead nationally, even as the newspaper showed Harris ahead in an average of multiple polls in three crucial battleground states: Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The two candidates were tied in four other crucial states: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.
The seven highly contested states are expected to play an outsized role in determining the outcome of the election because the U.S. does not pick its president and vice president by the national popular vote.
Rather, the election is 50 state-by-state contests, with electors for the winning ticket in all but two states casting all their votes in the Electoral College for either Harris and her vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, or Trump and his ticket mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance. The number of Electoral College votes for each state is based on population, so the most populous states hold the most sway.
The new Times-Siena poll showed that the debate stakes are particularly high for Harris in introducing herself to the American public, with 28% of those surveyed saying they need to know more about her, while only 9% said the same about Trump.
University of Michigan debate coach Aaron Kall told VOA: “Tuesday night is one of the most highly anticipated and consequential presidential debates of all time. Trump is a seasoned presidential debater but has a history of making controversial remarks against opponents on stage, which could distract from a more important focus on substantive policy issues.”
“Harris just entered the race in July and is still being defined by voters and the Trump campaign. She must demonstrate she can prosecute the case against Trump’s first term in office and recent actions,” he said. “Trump is an especially effective counter-puncher and could employ a scorched earth debate strategy if he feels unfairly maligned on stage.”
Kall added, “Both candidates should stress their compelling biographies and unique skill sets that make them especially qualified to lead the country during the next four years.”
He said the two candidates “must get these voters to feel comfortable with the notion of them being president for the next four years and a regular fixture on their television screens and in their living rooms.”
Harris has been preparing for the debate at a Pittsburgh hotel in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania. She has held several mock debates with a Trump-like substitute, complete with television lighting and would-be moderators asking her pointed questions.
Trump has engaged in policy briefings with his aides, shunning mock debates.
On the debate stage, the rules for Harris and Trump will be the same as in June. Each candidate’s microphone will be muted when the other is speaking. Each will have two minutes to answer a moderator’s question and the other a minute to respond.
Abortion rights, immigration at the U.S. border with Mexico, crime rates in the United States and personal character are among the issues that the ABC anchors are likely to raise.
Meantime, Trump and Harris have sparred at a distance.
Trump told Fox News commentator Sean Hannity last week that he let Biden talk at their June debate, adding, “I’m going to let her talk. There are those who say that Biden is smarter than she is. If that’s the case, we have a problem.” Trump had often insulted Harris’ intellect, saying she has “no idea what the hell she’s doing.”
“Look, this is a woman who is dangerous,” he said. “You can’t take the chance. You have no choice. You’ve got to vote for me, even if you don’t like me.”
Harris has mocked Trump as well.
At the Democratic National Convention last month as she accepted the party’s presidential nomination, Harris said, “In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man.” Harris added, “But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that Trump and all future U.S. presidents are immune from being prosecuted for wrongdoing while in office for actions linked to their official duties, which Harris said poses a problem if Trump again wins the presidency.
“Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails,” Harris said, “and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States. Not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had, himself.”
