Expect Harris and Trump to lean on vibes over policies at debate

Nancy Cook, Tribune News Service

Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump will meet for the first time as they take the stage Tuesday for their only scheduled debate yet, a showdown their teams see as hinging on style rather than substance. The Sept. 10 forum hosted by ABC News is expected to turn on perception and presentation rather than detailed discussions about the issues, according to advisers to both candidates, with the two looking to burnish voters’ impressions and leave room for their opponent to trip up on their own vulnerabilities. Democrats close to the Harris campaign said she and her team are intently focused on two points: finding the best way for her to fact-check and confront Trump, who they see as a showman and bully, while introducing herself to Americans less familiar with her biography.

Trump, meanwhile, aims to give Harris space to talk in hopes her answers come across as garbled, playing on his campaign’s criticisms of her speaking skills. The aim for both — with two months until Election Day and polls showing a tight race — is to convince voters they are the strongest candidate even if the nuts-and-bolts of their policy agendas remain vague. “Debates are interesting,” Trump said Wednesday at a town hall with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “You can go in with all the strategy you want, but you have to sort of feel it out.”

The debate in Philadelphia offers to be one of the biggest tests of Harris’ political career, a challenge her predecessor on the Democratic ticket, President Joe Biden, failed in a calamitous showing against Trump in their lone showdown this cycle. Harris is already in Pennsylvania, preparing in Pittsburgh with two aides, who while not formally part of the campaign, she has long trusted. Rohini Kosoglu, who was her chief policy adviser in the White House and chief-of-staff in the Senate, is leading the preparations, assisted by Karen Dunn, a partner at law firm Paul Weiss. Dunn helped Harris prepare for the vice presidential debate against Mike Pence in 2020 and helped Hillary Clinton get ready to spar with Trump in 2016. Harris is holding mock debates, with former top Clinton aide Philippe Reines playing Trump. Reines played the same role for Clinton in 2016, dressing up like the former president in a red tie and over-sized suit.

The vice president is known for detailed preparations for speeches, events and debates, according to a former aide. The aide said Harris often marks up briefing papers and goes over her thoughts with top advisers to ensure when she speaks she is doing so in the most clear language possible. Harris’ team anticipates Trump will attack her on the economy and immigration. But the former Harris aide said it won’t help the vice president to go into the weeds on policy and that her success depends on appearing to rise above Trump’s insults. Former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain expects Harris to go after Trump’s record in office, pushing the idea that his administration was chaotic and botched its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. “She needs to say she will fight for Americans, whereas he is only in it for himself,” he said.

At a Bloomberg News event during last month’s Democratic National Convention, Kosoglu said drawing a contrast with Trump will be a major part of their strategy. The vice president repeatedly asks “how are we making sure that the voters really understand what’s at stake,” she said.

Trump’s advisers see the debate as an opportunity to disrupt what they cast as a honeymoon period for Harris. Trump struggled at first with his new opponent, eventually replacing his attacks on Biden’s age and energy with jibes about Harris’ intelligence and identity. In the debate, his top campaign aides and allies want him to zero in on the economy, the paramount issue for voters. The campaign’s internal polling shows Trump has an advantage over Harris on inflation, as voters face high prices. Trump has been preparing in a similar manner to the June event with Biden, according to advisers. Not a fan of mock debates, Trump prefers instead to workshop memorable lines with advisers and talk through policy issues with subject-matter experts. Trump also views media interviews and public speeches, like the one he gave Thursday at the Economic Club of New York, as ways to rehearse for the debate.

“We’re not going to have some formal debate prep session,” Trump’s running mate JD Vance said at a campaign stop on Thursday. The former president will continue to speak with voters on the campaign trail and “incorporate that into a message that works for the American people.” One of Trump’s chief advantages, however, is years of experience on the debate stage in his third run for president. “No one is more experienced at this than Trump. No one has participated in more presidential debates than Trump,” said David Axelrod, a top aide to President Barack Obama. “Combined with the 14 years he spent as a reality TV star, he knows where the cameras are. He knows how to play them.”

Harris’ own debating past includes some notable moments. During the 2020 Democratic primary she sparred with Biden over his opposition to busing in the 1970s to desegregate schools. And a debate exchange with former Representative Tulsi Gabbard assailing her for prosecuting marijuana-related offenses went viral again this cycle. Gabbard endorsed Trump last month. “Harris had one national debate against Pence. She did well, but the stakes are very large,” Axelrod added. Underlying the stakes, both campaigns have sparred over debate rules, including whether microphones will be muted when it is not a candidate’s turn to speak.

The rules with ABC News call for muted microphones, a condition the Harris camp sought to change so viewers could hear if Trump if interrupts her and to enable her to more easily fact-check his claims in real time.

Axelrod predicted Trump would engage in “interruptions, outrageous allegations, a number of tactics designed to throw her off her game.”

“Whatever his eccentricities, no one ever says: I wish Trump would speak his mind,” Axelrod added. “I don’t expect he will be less unruly, no matter what advice he gets.” Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter to find out how the worlds of money and politics intersect in the US capital.