First is the fact that Trump knocked out President Joe Biden in their debate on June 27. Never before had a single debate put an end to a general election presidential campaign, and we assert this while aware of the high impact of previous encounters, such as that between President Ronald Reagan and Vice President Walter Mondale. The Trump-Biden debate precedent has to weigh on both candidates’ minds Tuesday night.
Second, this will probably be the only debate between the two candidates. Trump wants a second encounter with Harris on Fox News, but the Harris campaign has been hesitant, to put it mildly, to have her appear unscripted before the public. She still has not done a solo interview, even with a friendly journalist, let alone hold a press conference, so the odds of a second debate seem exceedingly slim.
Finally, Tuesday’s clash will be more significant than other presidential debates because Harris is intentionally unknown to most of the country. Whether they love or hate him, people know who Trump is and how he will govern. The same cannot be said of Harris. In the most recent New York Times poll showing Trump beating Harris 48% to 47%, 90% of voters said they “pretty much already know” what they need to know about Trump, but almost 30% of voters said they felt the need to “learn more” about Harris.
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This is despite her being the vice president for almost four years. After a disastrous interview with NBC’s Lester Holt in 2021, Harris was mostly kept from public view until the Democratic Party pushed Biden out of the race. The party and its media allies have rebranded Harris as a joyous warrior but have done so solely on vibes, on relief that Biden is gone, and not on any clarity about her vision or substance.
If Harris is going to turn the momentum of this race in her favor, she will need to do more than dole out pablum about a “new way forward.” She must explain what her positions are, how they are different from Biden’s, and why they are different from those of the far more left-wing Harris who ran against Biden in 2020.
Why has Harris changed her position on fracking? Has she indeed really done so? Does she still really believe in decriminalizing illegal immigration across the southern border? What is her real position on banning private health insurance, which she previously favored doing? What is her answer on mandating the sale of electric vehicles? There are easily a dozen more such questions that scream for answers, and Harris does not have time to explain them all, though she should in subsequent interviews. But she should at least explain a few of them, and the debate moderators should oblige her to do so or expose her evasions.
Harris must avoid becoming the caricature Trump made of her. No maniacal laughing when she feels anxious. No more vapid phrases about imagining “what can be, unburdened by what has been.” Leave the new age nonsense in San Francisco. Speak like a head of state.
For Trump, the plan should be simple, but that does not mean it will be easy for him to execute. All he has to do is remind voters that Harris is part of the Biden administration, which has been in government since 2021, that the Biden administration is unpopular for a reason, and that, if anything, Harris is further to the left of Biden on every issue.
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These are all easily established facts, but Trump will be sorely tempted to denigrate Harris personally, particularly about her biography. It is fair to ask what Harris has accomplished as vice president, but the relationships that helped her early rise to power in California should be avoided.
If candidates meet these benchmarks, voters will be the real winners. It is rare that the heads of both leading political parties are forced to answer questions publicly, which is why we should celebrate those moments when they are. Let us hope that one of them comes this Tuesday evening.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
