In stark contrast to Biden’s performance during the July debate, Kamala Harris was clearly confident in the ABC prime-time debate in Philadelphia.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ fiery debate with her Republican rival Donald Trump has been singled out by the US media. In stark contrast to her performance during President Joe Biden’s July debate, Harris was clearly confident in the prime-time debate in Philadelphia.
ABC News, which covered the debate, focused on the lies and conspiracies that Trump spun in an attempt to outdo Harris. Harris wasted no time in attacking Trump and put him on the defensive right at the start of the debate.
Politico reported that Harris won the debate – and said it was not a close debate. She out-muscled him several times and threw him off balance.
The New York Times said Harris “owned much of the night” as she used her skills as a lawyer to put Trump on the defensive.
Vice President Harris was expected to defend the Biden administration in front of its rival Trump, but the NYT reported that the Republican was defending his own record rather than his record as president.
The NYT said Trump appeared “bad”, resorting to insinuations about crowd size and conspiracy theories – which capped his tough night. Harris was well-prepared to mislead him.
The Washington Post said Trump has often strayed from facts and resorted to unproven theories about the 2020 presidential election and immigration.
Harris called out Trump’s “same old tired tricks, a litany of lies, grievances and name-calling”, declaring that the Republican has no plan for the people and is more interested in defending himself.
The Post said Harris was able to present her case against Trump in the same way Biden fought back in July. She was prepared to answer most of Trump’s allegations.
CNN said Trump resorted to every temptation offered by Harris to throw him off his game. The vice president was well-prepared and her every reaction was meant to enrage Trump, who often spiralled out of control.
Trump almost choked off Harris’ temptation and resorted to a bizarre mantra of insisting that immigrants eat Americans’ pets.
Fox News attempted a balancing act but focused on fighting ABC News’ debate moderators for fact-checking Trump.
Trump and Harris faced off in their first televised debate on Tuesday.
Initially Trump was ahead in national polls but Harris’ entry changed the game. Recent surveys show that the two leaders are neck-and-neck as the Democrat maintains a slight lead over her Republican rival.
If Harris wins the November election, she will become the first woman president of the US.
