Kamala Harris surprised everyone with a bold gesture as she extended her hand for a handshake with Donald Trump before their highly anticipated debate. The vice president approached Trump with a professional outstretched hand, despite his visible disinterest. Trump’s response? A curt, two-word remark: “Have fun.”
This marked the first face-to-face meeting between the 2024 presidential candidates since Trump skipped President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021. Despite their previous public jabs at each other, their handshake set the tone for an awkward start. “Kamala Harris. Let’s have a good debate,” Harris said, to which Trump responded, “Nice to see you. Have fun,” according to The Mirror.
Initially reluctant to debate Harris, Trump cited various excuses. However, after numerous challenges from the Democratic nominee, he agreed to the much-anticipated face-off. The debate didn’t disappoint, with Harris showcasing thorough preparation, while Trump stuck to his usual tactics.
Over the course of the 1 hour and 45-minute debate, Harris was sharp, controlled, and direct. She took on Trump’s personal and political attacks, challenging his alleged lies and weak stances on critical issues like abortion and reproductive rights. At one point, she even told him, “World leaders are laughing at you.”
Trump, 78, was characteristically loud and combative, engaging in name-calling and echoing a conspiracy theory spread by his running mate, J.D. Vance, about Haitian immigrants killing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. ABC debate moderator David Muir quickly corrected him, stating that local police had dismissed such claims, but Trump insisted he had “seen it on television.”
The debate drew strong reactions from political figures and analysts. Marc Short, former chief of staff to ex-Vice President Mike Pence, commented, “Trump missed an opportunity to stay focused on prosecuting the case against Biden-Harris on the economy and border, and instead took her bait. Harris passed the test of looking presidential, and Trump didn’t expose her historically radical positions,” according to Reuters.
Democratic strategist Karen Finney praised Harris’s performance, saying, “This is going to be remembered as one of the most impressive debate performances in modern politics. The VP is doing exactly what she needed to do: talk about her vision and policy ideas. He is rambling, making things up, and spouting lies and nonsense faster than the fact-checkers can keep up.”
Political experts like Chris Borick, a political science professor and pollster at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, noted that while the debate was compelling, it likely wouldn’t have a significant impact on the polls. “They both held pretty tight to their game plans. Harris baited Trump with some degree of success, but I don’t think he ever departed far from the messages he wanted to deliver.”