Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage in her first presidential debate with Donald Trump on Tuesday amid a crucial moment in her campaign which had shown signs of losing momentum.
With polling numbers tightening and controversies swirling around her foreign policy positions and past record, Harris faced pressure to deliver a performance that could reenergize her base and appeal to undecided voters.
In the wake of last night’s debate in Philadelphia, experts weighed in on whether she did enough to revive her campaign and reset the race in her favor.
Harris entered the debate needing to regain control of a narrative that had shifted against her in the previous week, where her once-promising lead over Trump had shrunk.
Kamala Harris speaks during her first presidential debate against Donald Trump in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 10, 2024. In the wake of last night’s debate in Philadelphia, experts weighed in on whether she did enough to revive her campaign and reset the race in her favor.
Alex Brandon/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Given these challenges, Harris’ performance on the debate stage was seen as pivotal. Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan’s debate program, told Newsweek that Harris “met and potentially even exceeded these lofty aspirations.”
Kall pointed out that the vice president directly confronted Trump from the opening moments, keeping him on the defensive for much of the night, which is a rare position for the former president.
“The unexpected post-debate endorsement by Taylor Swift and tens of millions of dollars raised by the campaign in the hours following the clutch performance should pay tremendous dividends for Harris,” Kall said.
He said that the media’s framing of Harris as the debate victor could help shift the trajectory of the race, at least temporarily.
Another expert told Newsweek that Harris was able to contrast her calm, steady leadership with Trump’s more bombastic style.
Wendy Schiller, a professor of political science at Brown University, praised Harris for her composure in the face of Trump’s aggressive attacks.
“Harris was effective in presenting herself as the calmer and more stable presidential choice, and may have further solidified the Democratic Party base,” Schiller said.
She noted that while Trump supporters remained loyal, Harris might have succeeded in appealing to independent voters by showing them an alternative to Trump’s unpredictable nature.
“This was the first time in a long time that voters saw the former president lose his composure,” Schiller said, adding that Harris’ campaign is likely counting on this to sway voters who rejected Trump in 2020 but may have been gravitating back toward him before the debate.
In terms of strategy, Jennifer N. Victor, an associate professor of political science at George Mason University, told Newsweek that Harris successfully baited Trump throughout the evening, resulting in the former president giving rambling responses on issues ranging from his legal troubles to his relationships with authoritarian world leaders.
According to Victor, this tactic worked to Harris’s advantage because Trump, while speaking more often, failed to deliver coherent points.
“She was skilled, strategic, polished, and sincere,” Victor said, contrasting Trump’s disjointed answers with Harris’ disciplined responses.
“He ranted about being aligned with Viktor Orban, repeated racist conspiracy theories about immigrants eating pets, and spun together bizarre conservative talking points into nonsense about killing babies and transsexual surgeries on jailed immigrants.”
Barbara Perry, a professor of presidential studies at the University of Virginia, told Newsweek that Harris succeeded in making the debate about leadership and character.
From the opening, Harris demonstrated “leadership, knowledge, experience, diplomacy, empathy, and fluency,” Perry said.
She said that Harris offered clear and specific policy ideas, compared to Trump’s reliance on generalities.
Perry said that Harris did what was necessary to appeal to moderate, undecided voters, particularly in key swing states.
“At the very least, she didn’t put those voters off or make any disqualifying gaffes,” Perry remarked, underscoring that this was a critical achievement for Harris as she seeks to widen her base.
While Harris continues to lead in most national polls, the race in key swing states remains tight, and the possibility of an Electoral College and popular vote split looms large.
For Harris, the experts agreed that the debate provided a boost for her campaign, but Kall said, “eight weeks is a lifetime in politics,” and while Harris’ debate performance has been widely regarded as a success, her campaign will need to capitalize on this moment to secure the support necessary to win in November.
