On Tuesday night, September 10, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump faced off in a high-stakes presidential debate where Harris emerged as the consensus winner after getting under the former president’s skin during a tense part of the debate. It was a highly important debate for both of them as the latest polling numbers showed them neck and neck in the battle for the White House. Trump attempted to stick to his typical talking points but slowly fell away after an odd rant about immigrants eating dogs in Ohio.
Early on in the debate, Trump’s first major challenge showed up in the form of the abortion section of the event. Abortion has been an area Republicans have been very weak on in the last few years after the right-wing leaning Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. Trump has been seen as being held personally responsible for this, which has quickly become an unpopular decision. During this section of the debate, he appeared very in control and normal, which worried Democrats early on. The topic in which Harris was supposed to “prosecute the case” against Trump, was proving not to be as easy as hoped. He took a very neutral position, with well-rehearsed and delivered lines about his support for IVF and how he wants to leave it up to the states. This indicated the possibility of a better than expected showing for Trump, but the next section quickly unraveled that.
After the abortion section, the heat fell back to Harris in the form of the immigration section. Republicans have attempted to paint Harris as a failed “border czar” who was responsible for any migrant-related problems during the Biden-Harris administration. The debate was still tense at this point until Harris unleashed a quick dig at Trump, a clear attempt to irritate him, where she hinted at his small crowd sizes, picking up on the now infamous Barack Obama joke from the Democratic national convention just a few weeks prior. The strategy worked well with Trump quickly spiraling out of control giving an answer that lashed out at immigrants and labeled them as “dog and pet eaters,” specifically citing Haitian immigrants from the town of Springfield, Ohio. After this outburst, Trump began to unravel as he attempted to stay on message. He eventually wandered off topic often after that including anecdotes like his conversations with the Taliban leader “Abdul.” The quick dig under Trump’s skin effectively derailed the candidate, who had intended to use the section to bash Harris for her actions at the border.
The final section of great consequence in the debate was on foreign policy, where the candidates went back and forth attacking each other for wars in Afghanistan and Ukraine, and Trump’s relationships with authoritarian leaders around the world. While there was less of a clear winner in this section, Harris’ momentum from Trump’s earlier breakdown paired with Trump’s tendency to stray off-topic certainly benefited Harris in a contentious section of the debate.
The real shock news came after the debate, when Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris, confirming a fear that Republicans had been discussing since the Super Bowl. It is unclear what effect this will have on the campaign, but with the stardom that Swift carries, it is sure to be an excellent shot of momentum for the Harris campaign going into the home stretch. Media networks generally indicated positive debate results for Harris, with numerous pundits delivering excited remarks on the future of the Harris campaign. Even Fox News agreed that Harris generally won the debate, which is a surprise coming from the typically Trump-friendly media network.
As the race heads into the final stretch, this night may be crucial for Harris, as she appeared as the stronger candidate, received the backing of one of the biggest pop stars in the world right now, and enters the remaining weeks of the campaign with a burst of momentum. Tonight was about perception, how people viewed the candidates, and how Harris was defined on the national stage. Her theme of “not going back” to the time of chaos under the Trump presidency contrasted nicely with Trump’s off-the-cuff remarks about immigrants and rambling stories. Tuesday night was a night to celebrate for the Harris campaign.
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Ethan Dumper is a youth journalist who covers national politics, women’s soccer, and current events. Major events he has covered include the 2020 DNC Debate in South Carolina, the 2023 RNC Debate in Simi Valley, CA, and roundtable discussions with Kamala Harris. He is a sophomore at Loyola High School of Los Angeles.
Trump photo: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
