By Shane Goldmacher and Katie Rogers
Kamala Harris showcased her commanding presence in the first presidential debate against Donald Trump, utilizing her legal expertise to make every effort to rattle the former president during a 90-minute contest of opposing perspectives and approaches.
They clashed vehemently on issues like abortion, the economy, immigration, and the conflict in Ukraine. However, throughout the evening, Trump appeared to be on the defensive, focusing on his past rather than critiquing hers.
The differences were clear, even without sound. She smiled confidently while he scowled. Although he spoke more frequently, it was she who set the agenda for the evening.
Here are six insights from a debate that starkly contrasted with June, when Democrats were so disheartened they replaced their candidate afterward:
Harris laid traps. Trump fell for them.
Harris walked across the stage to initiate the first handshake in a presidential debate since 2016. It marked her first in-person encounter with Trump, and she made a point to introduce herself: “Kamala Harris,” she stated, as he grasped her hand. “Have fun,” he quipped.
She certainly seemed to enjoy herself. He did not.
From early on, Harris took control of the debate. She presented challenges, and Trump fell into her traps. It commenced with her taunting him about the dwindling attendance at his rallies and continued with her remark about his inheritance. She also referenced his critical Republican adversaries, including those who had served under him.
On the defensive, Trump maneuvered himself into rhetorical dead ends.
At one moment, Harris encouraged viewers to watch a Trump rally for an unfiltered take on the former president, saying, “You will not hear him discuss your needs.”
He countered not by addressing voter concerns but by discussing crowd sizes.
“People don’t leave my rallies,” he retorted.
Trump focused on defending his record.
In the opening minutes, Harris looked directly into the camera and warned viewers about Trump: “the same old, tired playbook, a series of lies, grievances, and insults.”
Indeed, he spent more time clarifying his past actions than outlining a future agenda for a second term, defending his pandemic response, the dismissal of key military advisors, and even his controversial response to the deadly far-right rally in Charlottesville back in 2017.
Trump stumbled during a moment he hoped to use offensively: the Biden-Harris administration’s management of the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal. Instead, he found himself justifying his invitation to the Taliban for a meeting at Camp David in 2019.
Harris compelled Trump to explain his associations with authoritarian leaders like Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his past dealings with Vladimir Putin of Russia, labeling Putin “a dictator who would eat you for lunch.” She even turned his derogatory term for her—“weak”—back on him concerning national security.
He retaliated by calling her “weak” again.
Harris took a firm stance on abortion.
Abortion had been a major missed chance for President Joe Biden during his initial debate, but it became one of Harris’ strongest points.
Trump is acutely aware of his vulnerabilities regarding abortion, having appointed the Supreme Court justices responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade. Yet on Tuesday, he skirted around the prospect of vetoing a national ban.
“As for the abortion ban, no, I’m not for a ban,” he stated. “But it doesn’t matter because this matter is now in the hands of the states.”
He even contradicted his own vice-presidential selection, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who has shown support for a national ban. “I didn’t talk about it with JD, to be fair,” Trump remarked.
Harris criticized Trump, calling it “demeaning to the women of America,” asserting that she had encountered women nationwide whose health and lives were jeopardized by abortion restrictions.
Trump did not disguise his contempt for Harris.
Throughout much of the debate, Harris conveyed her disdain for Trump through her body language: resting her chin on her hand, laughing, and pursing her lips in confusion.
Trump expressed his feelings by shouting into the microphone.
Harris cautioned that global leaders were “mocking Donald Trump” and regarded him as a “disgrace.” When she mentioned his 2020 election defeat as the moment he was “fired by 81 million people,” he visibly bristled.
When Harris broached his criminal convictions, Trump asserted that Democrats—and by extension, Harris—had weaponized the judicial system against him: “I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things they say about me,” he claimed.
At a certain point, when Harris attempted to interject over a muted mic, Trump, skilled in making off-the-cuff jabs, turned one of her notable remarks from the 2020 vice-presidential debate back at her.
“I’m talking now, if you don’t mind, please,” a visibly irritated Trump stated. “Does that sound familiar?”
Harris overlooked some chances.
One of Trump’s few striking comments, albeit somewhat expected, was when he ridiculed Harris for the vagueness in her agenda.
“She copied Biden’s plan. And it’s like, four sentences,” he remarked, “Like, ‘Run, Spot, Run.’”
In her reply, Harris focused on Trump’s agenda instead of detailing her own. This was characteristic of a debate where she appeared most comfortable discussing Trump rather than elaborating on her plans for the presidency.
When the moderators prompted her to clarify her series of policy reversals—including her earlier stance on banning fracking and decriminalizing border crossings—Harris only addressed the first after asserting she would cover them all: “I will not ban fracking,” she stated, quickly shifting to Trump’s background as the offspring of a real estate mogul.
Trump longed for Biden.
One of Trump’s objectives had been to link Harris to Biden’s most unpopular policies, particularly regarding the economy and immigration, blaming the Biden-Harris administration for permitting “millions” of migrants at the southwestern border.
He largely failed to achieve this throughout the night. Instead, he made fun of a man he seemed to miss opposing. “You’ll wake him up at 4 in the afternoon,” Trump said at one juncture concerning Biden.
Harris pressed Trump on his obsession. “It’s essential to remind the former president,” she stated, “You’re not running against Joe Biden, you’re running against me.”
The Trump campaign has portrayed Harris in advertisements as “dangerously liberal.” Yet on Tuesday, he quickly changed from claiming she was mimicking him so much he considered sending her “a MAGA hat” to labeling her a “Marxist.”
It wasn’t until his closing statement that Trump genuinely seemed to find his rhythm linking her to Biden. “She’s going to accomplish all these wonderful things,” he said regarding her various commitments. “Why hasn’t she done it?”
She didn’t need to respond, as the debate had concluded.
