Harris excels in debate

In a key debate in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, one candidate seemed to dominate the stage. They interrupt their opponents at crucial moments and sometimes even talk down to them.

Their direct confrontation with rival Joe Biden made headlines for days, with critics questioning whether they were violating some unspoken political etiquette.

However, that candidate is not Donald Trump. This is Kamala Harris.

On September 10, Ms. Harris will take the debate stage again. But this time, she’s gone one step further than in 2020 and become the Democratic presidential nominee, facing off against Trump in a showdown that poses the toughest challenge to her campaign yet.

Debates have played an important role in Ms. Harris’s political career, from her campaign for California attorney general to her promotion to vice president. Looking back at her four key debates, it’s clear that Ms. Harris knows when to seize the spotlight and when to stand by while her opponents attack themselves.

Ms. Harris hopes to harness those instincts against the notoriously combative Mr. Trump. Her campaign also hopes to dispel long-standing concerns about her political messaging that began with her failed bid for the White House in 2020 and were exacerbated by her bungling in some interviews in recent years.

Given how these events are defined through viral clips, there’s no room for error, so it’s just as important for Harris’ campaign to avoid stumbles as it is to land big hits in highlight reels.

“She needs to stand up for herself,” said Aimee Allison, founder of She The People, an organization that supports women of color in politics. “She needs to communicate on the debate stage what she’s fighting for.”

In her earliest debates, Ms. Harris succeeded by allowing her opponents to undermine themselves.

During the 2010 debate for the California attorney general position, moderators asked Ms. Harris and her Republican opponent Steve Cooley about a controversial practice known as “double raises,” which allow public officials Withdrawals from government salaries and pensions.

“Are you going to double dip by collecting a pension and being paid as attorney general?” the moderator asked the candidate.

“Yes, I do,” Mr. Cooley replied. “I earned it.”

For a while, Ms. Harris said nothing as she defended her position.

“Just try, Steve,” she finally retorted. “You earned it!”

Ms. Harris’s campaign was quick to cut the moment into an ad, which they used to lambast Mr. Cooley for being out of touch with reality. She narrowly won the election.

During a 2016 debate for California’s U.S. Senate seat, Ms. Harris’s opponent inexplicably interrupted her closing remarks with a “tap,” a popular dance move at the time.

Ms. Harris looked surprised and waited a few moments before quipping: “So, there are clear differences between the candidates in this race.”

Voters once again backed Ms. Harris.

Both examples illustrate Ms. Harris’s eye for opportunity on the debate stage and her sense of knowing when it’s best to step back. “I think she’s someone who is very good at exploiting silence,” said Maya Rupert, a Democratic strategist who worked on the 2020 presidential campaigns of Julian Castro and Elizabeth Warren.

When Ms. Harris entered the national stage, she proved she could hold her own even in a crowded arena. One of her tried-and-true tactics is to publicly announce her intentions to speak, forcing opponents and the audience to listen.

The 2020 vice presidential debate is remembered primarily for what she said to Mike Pence as he began to interrupt: “Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking.”

Just weeks ago, Ms. Harris used the same rhetoric against Gaza protesters who interrupted her rally in Detroit, suggesting the pushback was not just a one-off. “I’m talking now,” she told them. “If you want Donald Trump to win, say so. Or I’ll say it.

“She’s using something that a lot of black women have used effectively, which is insisting on her own time and insisting on being heard,” Ms. Allison said. “She was very effective in making sure her voice was heard and respected.”

But perhaps her most memorable debate moment came in 2019, when Ms Harris, then a US senator, stopped all crosstalk during a Democratic primary debate in Miami to question Mr Biden’s past stances on political issues. A policy called “bussing”.

She criticized Biden for working with lawmakers who opposed civil rights-era policies that sent students to schools in different neighborhoods to address racial segregation.

“There was a little girl in California who was in the second class of a public school, and she was bused to school every day,” Ms. Harris said.

She paused, then told Mr. Biden: “That little girl was me.”

Nina Smith, who was working as travel press secretary for presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg at the time, said the moment brought attention to rival campaigns.

“It showed our team that if she saw an opportunity, she was going to take it,” Ms Smith recalled to the BBC. “I think that makes her a pretty skilled debater in this regard. That’s definitely something we want to be wary of, any unexpected blow that might come from Senator Harris at the time.

“It shows the prosecutor’s ability to … really highlight the vulnerabilities of their opponents,” she said.

By the end of the debate, Ms. Harris had spoken more than any other candidate except Mr. Biden. Her campaign announced it had raised $2 million within 24 hours of the debate.

But despite the breakthrough moment and subsequent surge in polls, Ms Harris later struggled to clarify her stance on busing. This only underscores concerns about her messaging and ability to articulate consistent policy positions.

The incident was one of many errors in messaging that Ms. Harris made that ultimately cost her her first presidential bid. Her failure to articulate a coherent policy agenda is one of the most common reasons she needs to clarify quickly in the debate, as she will almost certainly be pressed on policy details.

For years, Republicans have circulated clips of Ms. Harris’s public remarks, mocking her speaking style and dismissing her as incompetent. She used lengthy phrases in her impromptu speech, while Her supporters embraced some of the rhetoricopponents often criticized her for a lack of clarity.

In a recent CNN interviewIt was her first response on climate change since becoming a candidate, and it illustrates the problem. Ms Harris said: “This is an urgent issue and we should apply some metrics, including strict deadlines.”

However, on the debate stage, speaking time is limited and the clarity of the message is crucial.

The upcoming debate on ABC News will be her biggest chance yet to reset public opinion, and past debates have shown that Ms. Harris often brings a sharp tool kit to these events and is capable of delivering a blow.

But the stress of past debates pales in comparison to the stakes high when she first comes face to face with Trump.

Strategists agree that Trump poses a formidable challenge even to the most experienced politicians. In 2016, during a debate with Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, he stalked her onstage, grabbing everyone’s attention even when it was her turn to answer.

The first presidential debate of 2020 between him and Biden turned into an incomprehensible melee as Trump kept interrupting. At one point, Mr. Biden became so irritated that he snapped: “Will you shut up, man?”

“Donald Trump is a unique and special case because you never know what’s going to happen next,” said Ms. Smith, who prepared debates for Democratic candidates. “I’m not going to make her feel comfortable during debate prep to give her some kind of instinct or ruthlessness about anything that might come up.”

Ms. Harris, a former prosecutor, specializes in the back-and-forth on the debate stage. She proved as much when she grilled Trump officials and Supreme Court nominees in heated Senate hearings.

But the format of the upcoming ABC debate may limit her ability to demonstrate prosecutorial skills, as microphones will reportedly be muted when it’s the other party’s turn to speak.

Under the same rules as the June Biden-Trump debate, that could mean she will answer tough questions from moderators rather than clash with Trump.

Ms. Harris has gotten into hot water in the past when she ends prosecutorial questioning rather than raising it, such as in her infamous 2021 interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt when she was pressed about illegal immigration. Struggled at times.

One pitfall Ms. Rupert may envision for the Harris camp is for their candidate to be drawn into a lengthy debate with Trump over the facts. This could disrupt the debate among voters and give viewers the impression that he dominates the conversation.

She suggested that Ms. Harris add a third tactic — not to prosecute, or to remain silent, but to ignore.

“She has an important opportunity here to make her point,” Ms. Rupert said, “and not feel unduly burdened by what he was doing next to her.”