Kamala Harris’ joyful campaign will be hit today by the blunt force of reality — a debate with Donald Trump — the most menacing political foe of modern times.
The vice president transformed the election after President Joe Biden’s abject debate showing against Trump on CNN led him to end his reelection bid. She restored several swing states to the electoral battlefield and has had Democrats dreaming of a stunning turnabout in a race most thought they were well on the way to losing.
Yet her success in unifying her party, branding herself as a fresh voice of generational change and closing into a dead heat with Trump in polling has not cemented a reliable path to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. If the election were today, the ex-president, who has already defied an assassination attempt and scores of criminal charges, could still win.
Presidential debates usually don’t decide elections — notwithstanding the cataclysmic impact of Biden’s wipeout. But tonight is the best remaining chance for Harris to drive home a decisive argument that could thwart Trump’s historic comeback.
Her assignment in Philadelphia will require rhetorical skills that have often been questioned in an uneven vice presidency. While she has had her moments in debates and Senate hearings, Harris has sometimes struggled to articulate clear policies and answers under pressure in spontaneous situations.
While the former president has now taken part in presidential debates in three separate elections, this will be Harris’ first venture onto the debate stage since her meeting with former Vice President Mike Pence in 2020.
