Vice President Kamala Harris will seek to cement her narrow lead over former President Donald Trump at their first debate Tuesday, while Trump looks to reset his campaign after losing ground in the polls after Harris stepped in as the Democratic nominee.
Harris enters the debate riding a wave of momentum in the weeks since she replaced President Joe Biden after he dropped his bid for a second term. But the race is essentially deadlocked, with both candidates separated by tight margins in all of the key battleground states.
Trump, who accepted an unprecedented third consecutive Republican presidential nomination in July, will be participating in his seventh presidential debate Tuesday.
Trump and Hillary Clinton debated three times in 2016. Trump faced off against Biden twice in 2020 and once more in June, when Biden’s poor performance put pressure on him to drop out of the race.
Harris made waves in her first major debate on the national stage in 2019, when she criticized Biden’s record on school busing at a Democratic primary debate. She also faced off against Mike Pence in the 2020 vice presidential debate.
But Tuesday will be the biggest debate challenge of Harris’ career by far.
With so much at stake, Newsweek asked Democratic and Republican strategists to weigh in with their analysis of effective strategies for both candidates — and what a Harris and Trump debate night win would look like.
Newsweek also requested comment from the Harris and Trump campaigns on their debate strategies heading into Tuesday’s event at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
Here are the key issues to watch for and ways the candidates might succeed or fail when they face off for the first time.
How Harris can win
Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at the Enmarket Arena August 29, 2024 in Savannah, Georgia.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
‘Make Trump seem small’
Trump has a long history of belittling political opponents with nicknames and attacks on social media. The Harris campaign has flipped the script by mocking Trump’s tendency to ramble at rallies and calling his views on key issues “weird” and out of touch with mainstream America.
If Harris can do that Tuesday against Trump — who famously appeared to try and intimidate Clinton by lurking behind her on stage during their second 2016 debate — she’ll “minimize the impact of anything he’s done” as president, said Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist.
“What she has to do is diminish his allusion of power,” Smikle said. “Make Trump seem small.”
The Harris campaign has also shifted its rhetoric on threats against democracy, a core issue for Biden before he dropped out of the race. Since becoming the nominee, Harris has focused less on the issue while spending more time on abortion and the economy. Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat will likely come up at the debate, but Harris won’t be helped if she talks about the issue in a way that overstates Trump’s importance, Smikle said.
“When we talk about threats to democracy, it makes him seem bigger than he really is,” Smikle said.
Focus on values, not detailed policy
Harris has drawn criticism for running a campaign with few detailed policy proposals. Democrats argued Harris should ignore the criticism Tuesday and avoid getting into too many details on the debate stage with Trump.
“You have to have enough policy chops to be able to show an understanding of the issues. But you don’t want to ever get into the weeds” at a debate, said Rick Ridder, a Democratic strategist. “The number one job in a debate is always to deliver a [broader] message.”
Harris should focus on her agenda in broad strokes and contrast it to Trump’s record in office and 2024 campaign promises, said Tory Gavito, a Democratic strategist and the president of Way to Win. At the same time, Harris will need to offer moderates and independents who don’t want to back Trump a reason to vote for her in November, Gavito said.
“Vice President Harris’ number one job is to keep the anti-MAGA coalition together,” Gavito said.
Draw a contrast on age
The split screen image on television of Biden and Trump at their June 27 debate helped sink Biden’s campaign. The 81-year-old president appeared feeble and struggled at times to finish his thoughts, while Trump, who is 78, came across to most viewers as more energetic.
The contrast Tuesday will be very different. Harris is the first woman and Black and South Asian person to serve as vice president, and she would make history if she wins the election. And at 59 years old Harris is nearly two decades younger than Trump.
The age difference will likely help Harris, but Democrats said she may lose the advantage if she plays it up too much. Letting the optics speak for themselves is a more effective strategy, Gavito said, adding that Harris can say more with less while portraying herself as “a symbol of what the future of American democracy can look like.”
How Trump can win
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump greets supporters following a town hall campaign event on August 29, 2024 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Focus on policy, not personal attacks
Trump has performed best in debates when he focuses on issues impacting voters. Some of his worst performances have come in debates where he attacked his opponent, as he did in his first debate against Biden in 2020. Trump was more disciplined in his debate with Biden in June, but he has ramped up his personal attacks against Harris in recent weeks as he struggles to figure out how to campaign against her.
“He should not delve into the personal at all,” said Gregg Peppin, a Republican strategist.
Which version of Trump shows up at the debate Tuesday will make the difference between a good night for the former president and a bad one, said Brian Seitchik, a Republican strategist who has worked on past Trump campaigns.
“The more we’re talking about policy and Trump’s accomplishments the better it is” for him, Seitchik said, adding that Trump should focus on the economy, as well as inflation, immigration and crime, among other issues.
“Donald Trump needs to channel his inner Ronald Reagan,” he said, “and pose the question that [Democrats] are most afraid of. Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”
Don’t take the bait
Sticking to talking points on the economy and the border is one thing. But Trump will also have to avoid getting angry and riled up in a way that turns off voters including women who may be watching to see how Trump treats Harris, Republican strategists said.
“She’s going to try to get under his skin. He can’t take the bait,” Matt Mackowiak, a Republican consultant said. But he added, “I don’t know if he has the discipline to do this.”
Trump could take a page from Biden’s 2019 playbook. Harris scored points on Biden with the busing issue at their first primary debate, but Biden avoided getting flustered on stage and was able to limit the damage. Trump can likewise appear poised and collected if he doesn’t respond in kind to any barbs or canned attack lines Harris might throw his way, Seitchik said.
“If the chatter after the debate is Trump’s personality or how Harris was able to get under his skin, that will be a win for her,” Seitchik said. “If the focus is a compare-and-contrast of the four years of Biden-Harris and the four years of Trump policy, that’s a loss for her.”
Avoiding debating abortion
Democrats ran successfully on abortion in the 2022 midterms after the Supreme Court‘s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, and the issue is central to Harris’ 2024 campaign. Trump, meanwhile, has struggled to find his footing on the issue since Harris became the Democratic nominee. His running mate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio has also drawn criticism for past controversial comments on abortion, IVF and adults who don’t have children.
“He’s kind of been all over the place [on abortion] in the last few weeks. He’s obviously going to be on defense on that” at the debate, Mackowiak said of Trump. “He’s got to figure out what he can say on abortion.”
Trump won’t be able to avoid the issue. But he can find ways to shift the focus to other topics, Seitchik added.
“Trump needs to get back to safe terrain” when abortion comes up, Seitchik said. “The longer he’s talking about abortion the worse off he is in the debate. He needs to restate his position on abortion, but he needs to get out of that conversation.”
