Harris provokes Trump again, and again, and again.
By: Meredith Richardson
A mere two months ago, Joe Biden exited the stage of the presidential debate after a feeble performance, lending credence to right-wing accusations of his incompetence and taking the Democrats’ hopes along with him. During the September 10th debate, however, it was Kamala Harris who assumed a dominant role in the debate. She proceeded to claim a decisive victory over Donald Trump not by scrutinizing his figmental policies, but by targeting the fundamental element of his political character: his ego.
Following President Biden’s withdrawal from the Democratic candidacy in late July, the pivot from him to Kamala Harris was exhilarating for many Democrats, providing them with the sudden optimism of a younger, more exuberant candidate. Harris appeared to ride this momentum, capitalizing on Trump’s refusal to engage her in a televised debate. At a rally in July, Harris called him out, declaring her hope that he would “reconsider to meet [her] on the debate stage.” Echoed by the crowd behind her, she then challenged him directly, saying, “If you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.” This address to him was bold and personal, serving as an early indicator of Harris’s taunting approach towards Trump as an opponent. Sure enough, Trump agreed to participate in the September debate soon after – the first inkling of how he would respond to her provocations.
With 67 million Americans watching, Harris opened the September 10th debate on the offensive. Among the first topics introduced by the moderators was immigration, with Harris being grilled on the Biden-Harris administration’s record with the border. Through her answer, she shifted the focus onto a critique of Trump’s rhetoric and characteristic ramblings, culminating in a swipe at his rallies. “I’m going to invite you to attend one of Donald Trump’s rallies because it’s a really interesting thing to watch… you will also notice that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom,” she quipped, mocking Trump’s rally sizes and audience engagement.
In his response shortly after, Trump completely abandoned pursuing Harris’ answer regarding immigration; the only statement of hers that seemed to strike him was her insult of his rallies. He retorted, “She said people start leaving. People don’t go to her rallies. There’s no reason to go. And the people that do go, she’s bussing them in and paying them to be there.”
In fixating on her comment about his rallies and leaving her answer to the question on immigration policy uncontested, Trump revealed that his attempts to present concern about actual policies took a backseat to fend off threats to his ego. This was an intentional move by Kamala Harris, one she repeated throughout the course of the debate – yielding the same, flailing responses by Trump.
With Kamala employing this tactic, Trump remained on the defensive throughout the debate, a position he does not fare well in. Accustomed to aggression and theatrical mockery of his opponents, he was left reeling when it was his own pride under assail. He never did regain his footing in the debate, spiraling into incoherent tangents and embarrassing diatribes, including an absurd claim that migrants in Springfield were consuming pets of the city’s residents.
By the end of the night, the numbers were in: a poll conducted by CNN reported that the majority of viewers considered Harris to have won the debate. This victory came despite Harris sporting a number of weak areas – opportunities for Donald Trump to exploit, had his vanity not been wielded so effectively against him. Harris beat him almost effortlessly at his own game, targeting the very ego that had vaulted him onto the debate stage.
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