How Kamala Harris Baited And Broke Donald Trump In A Masterclass Debate
In a dominant debate performance, Kamala Harris stuck to her message and strategically lured Trump into a series of self-damaging rants, showcasing her skill as he unraveled into unhinged depravity.
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Tuesday night’s debate could prove to be the defining moment of the 2024 election. The stakes could not have been higher. Americans have waited years for someone to not just beat Donald Trump in a debate but to embarrass him. I’m happy to say Vice President Kamala Harris rose to meet the moment.
It’s clear Donald Trump severely underestimated Kamala Harris. Last month, Trump said, “I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence,” after making racist and sexist attacks. Well, he walked into this debate and was outmatched in every way.
From the second Kamala Harris walked up to Donald Trump to shake his hand, Harris signaled we were in for a dominant, confident performance.
Kamala Harris clearly had a plan and structured approach to her responses. The format went like this: Harris would address the question presented to her, get her message across, paint a contrast with Trump, showcase Trump has no plans to help everyday Americans, and then bait Trump into a damaging response.
Harris laser-targeted Trump’s deepest egomaniacal insecurities and got in his head in a way no other debater has before. She constantly had him on the defensive. Trump took Harris’s bait every single time, leading Trump to unravel into rambling screeds that spotlighted his deep character flaws - reminding Americans why they voted him out of office in the first place.
Harris was giving calm, competent energy, while Trump gave unhinged conspiracy theorist energy. Kamala Harris sounded like a president. Donald Trump sounded like a resident of one of those insane asylums he falsely claims immigrants are being sent from.
Harris was focused, precise, and charismatic. Harris constantly showcased a remarkable ability to think on her feet. Her years as a prosecutor shined through as she wielded a powerful command of the facts.
Viewers appeared to agree. According to CNN’s Flash Poll, 63% of their debate watchers thought Kamala Harris had a better performance, and “among voters who watched the debate and identify as political independents, Harris' favorability rose to 48% after the debate, up from just 30% before.”
While Harris shined, ABC’s debate moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, also did a phenomenal job. What we saw at the debate was what true objective moderation looks like. There were fact-checks and tough questions for both candidates. When you appease liars and give credence to disinformation, that’s a bias towards the gaslighter. Muir and Davis did the opposite of that. They held the line on reality.
So, let’s dive into the highlights of the debate and why Kamala Harris was so effective.
Kamala Harris’s 10/10 Debate Performance
Trump On The Defensive On Tariffs
The debate began on the topic of the economy. The first question came from David Muir to Kamala Harris: “When it comes to the economy, do you believe Americans are better off than they were four years ago?”
Kamala Harris interestingly didn’t get into a comparison with the Trump economy of four years ago and instead used this answer to talk about her middle-class background and her economic plans. Harris packed in that answer her $6,000 child tax credit plan and her $50,000 tax deduction for start-ups. She then immediately jumped into a contrast with Donald Trump’s economic plans, which consist of tax cuts for the rich and blanket tariffs.
This put Trump on the defensive, and he spent the first part of his answer defending his disastrous tariff proposal, which is insanely inflationary. Trump’s proposed 10% tariff on all US imports would raise taxes on American consumers by more than $300 billion a year, according to the Tax Foundation.
This exchange, which consisted of Trump repeatedly seeking to pivot to immigration fear-mongering, culminated in Harris outlining her core message, coupled with data-backed estimates of the impact of Trump’s terrible economic policies:
“So, Donald Trump has no plan for you. And when you look at his economic plan, it's all about tax breaks for the richest people. I am offering what I describe as an opportunity economy, and the best economists in our country, if not the world, have reviewed our relative plans for the future of America. What Goldman Sachs has said is that Donald Trump's plan would make the economy worse. Mine would strengthen the economy.”
Kamala Harris Holds Trump’s Feet To The Fire On Abortion
This part of the debate is where Kamala Harris took total control and never let it go.
ABC’s Linsey Davis asked a great first question aimed at Donald Trump, filled with context: “I want to turn to the issue of abortion. President Trump, you've often touted that you were able to kill Roe v. Wade. Last year, you said that you were proud to be the most pro-life president in American history… Vice President Harris says that women shouldn't trust you on the issue of abortion because you've changed your position so many times. Therefore, why should they trust you?”
Trump then repeated absolute nonsense, claiming that Democrats and Governor Tim Walz want abortion at the 9th month and want to kill babies after they’re born. This is a lie Trump and Republicans have repeated over and over again. Trump then said that everyone wanted Roe v. Wade to be overturned and owned it once again.
It was here we got the first fact-check of the night. Linsey Davis said, “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it's born. Madam Vice President, I want to get your response to President Trump.”
Kamala Harris then jumped into her best answer of the night so far, powerfully outlining how Trump selected three Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe v. Wade and how over 20 states now have abortion bans. She called it immoral. Then she told personal anecdotes that were incredibly moving:
“I have talked with women around our country. You want to talk about this is what people wanted? Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because the health care providers are afraid they might go to jail and she's bleeding out in a car in the parking lot? She didn't want that. Her husband didn't want that. A 12 or 13-year-old survivor of incest being forced to carry a pregnancy to term? They don't want that. And I pledge to you when Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protections of Roe v. Wade as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.”
Kamala Harris then mentioned Project 2025 for the second time during the debate:
“But understand, if Donald Trump were to be re-elected, he will sign a national abortion ban. Understand in his Project 2025 there would be a national abortion ban. Understand in his Project 2025 there would be a national abortion -- a monitor that would be monitoring your pregnancies, your miscarriages. I think the American people believe that certain freedoms, in particular the freedom to make decisions about one's own body, should not be made by the government.”
Of course, Trump is still lying about his ties to Project 2025. However, as I’ve written in this newsletter for over a year now, hundreds of policy proposals in Project 2025 directly match Trump’s policies, and over 100 people who worked for Trump have been involved in Project 2025.
This exchange was damaging for Trump, who repeatedly owned the abortion bans that are happening at the state level and backtracked on his running mate JD Vance’s promise that Trump would veto an abortion ban.
According to Kamala Harris’s Senior Advisor David Plouffe, this was the most effective debate answer he’s ever seen from debate dials, which is live reactions from voters: “Forty point difference with undecided voters on their abortion answers. Widest gap I’ve ever seen in debate dials.”
Immigration Fear-Mongering And Bait Taken
After David Muir asked Kamala Harris a tough question about immigration, she immediately spotlighted how Donald Trump sabotaged the bipartisan border bill. Harris discussed how Trump really doesn’t want to solve the issue of immigration - he just wants to run on the problem. This was the right framing.
After using the first part of her answer to focus on the bipartisan border bill, Harris did something interesting. Knowing that immigration is an issue that Trump polls well on, she laid out one of her first pieces of bait to try and veer him off track. She targeted a known insecurity of his, mocked his rallies, and highlighted his insanity:
“And I'm going to actually do something really unusual and I'm going to invite you to attend one of Donald Trump's rallies because it's a really interesting thing to watch. You will see during the course of his rallies he talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter. He will talk about windmills cause cancer. And what you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom. And I will tell you the one thing you will not hear him talk about is you. You will not hear him talk about your needs, your dreams, and your, your desires. And I'll tell you, I believe you deserve a president who actually puts you first. And I pledge to you that I will.”
As you can see there, she once again weaved her core anti-Trump message into the response, ending on the note that Trump does not put Americans first.
It was at this stage of the debate that Kamala Harris officially broke Donald Trump, and he became an unfocused, unhinged mess. His depravity level was increasing in direct proportion to his increasingly triggered state.
In a moment where Trump could’ve talked about the issue he polls best on, he unraveled into undisciplined nonsense, taking Harris’s bait, hook, line, and sinker.
Trump launched into an absolutely wild screed, spending the first part of his answer defending his rallies. Then, Trump called America a failing nation headed for World War 3. Trump then repeated a false Facebook rumor that JD Vance helped spread among the right-wing ecosystem: the absolute lie that Haitian immigrants are eating pets. Read for yourself:
“And a lot of towns don't want to talk -- not going to be Aurora or Springfield. A lot of towns don't want to talk about it because they're so embarrassed by it. In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The people that came in. They're eating the cats. They're eating -- they're eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what's happening in our country.”
Harris’s reaction to this moment was priceless:
This was a moment of breaking the Fourth Wall. In that moment, Kamala Harris embodied the audience, laughing and mocking Trump’s ridiculousness.
It was here we got yet another fact-check from the ABC moderators, with David Muir jumping in to say, “I just want to clarify here: you bring up Springfield, Ohio. And ABC News did reach out to the city manager there. He told us there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community…”
Trump tried to jump in and combat the fact-check, saying, “Well, I've seen people on television.”
During a back and forth, Muir said, “I'm not taking this from television. I'm taking it from the city manager… Again, the Springfield city manager says there's no evidence of that.”
Blatant lies about immigrants were featured heavily by Trump throughout the debate. Trump claimed immigrants have the highest levels of criminality and said they hurt the economy. The truth: Immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than US-born citizens, and they contributed 1/5 of US GDP growth between 2019 and 2023, as I’ve outlined in my article on positive immigration data.
Kamala Harris also responded to this exchange in an effective way, using it as an opportunity to spotlight the fact so many Republicans have backed away from Trump because of his extremism:
“Talk about extreme. Um, you know, this is I think one of the reasons why in this election I actually have the endorsement of 200 Republicans who have formally worked with President Bush, Mitt Romney, and John McCain including the endorsement of former Vice President Dick Cheney and Congressmember Liz Cheney. And if you want to really know the inside track on who the former president is, if he didn't make it clear already, just ask people who have worked with him. His former chief of staff, a four-star general, has said he has contempt for the constitution of the United States….”
Trump would go on to continue to lie about immigration and crime running rampant, and David Muir made sure to fact-check that as well, asserting: “President Trump, as you know, the FBI says overall violent crime is coming down in this country...”
Kamala Harris, once again, used Trump’s rhetoric against him. When he talked about crime, she needled him on his many indictments:
“Well, I think this is so rich. Coming from someone who has been prosecuted for national security crimes, economic crimes, election interference, has been found liable for sexual assault and his next big court appearance is in November at his own criminal sentencing. And let's be clear where each person stands on the issue of what is important about respect for the rule of law and respect for law enforcement. The former vice president called for defunding, federal law enforcement, 45,000 agents, get this, on the day after he was arraigned on 34 felony counts. So let's talk about what is important in this race. It is important that we move forward, that we turn the page on this same old tired rhetoric.”
You cannot get more succinct than that.
Kamala Harris used bait and well-timed attacks to turn a segment on immigration into a demonstration of the many reasons Donald Trump is unfit for office.
Taking Trump’s Authoritarianism To Task
There’s one more key topic I wanted to spotlight in this piece - the issue of democracy.
David Muir asked a powerful question about January 6, detailing the events of January 6 and asking, “Is there anything you regret about what you did on that day?”
Trump gave a meandering response, saying that January 6 rioters have been treated very badly. When Muir pressed him, he tried to blame Nancy Pelosi.
Muir turned to Kamala Harris to respond, who gave an amazing January 6 answer, spotlighting Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election and said we don’t have to go back. Said it’s time to turn the page. She then welcomed people into her coalition who were turned off by January 6. It was a masterclass of a response.
Trump was then pressed by David Muir on whether he will acknowledge the fact that he lost the 2020 election. Donald Trump doubled down and refused to admit he lost the 2020 election. David Muir then fact-checked and said he lost 60 election cases.
Kamala Harris then further humiliated Trump:
“Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people. So, let's be clear about that. And clearly, he is having a very difficult time processing that. But we cannot afford to have a president of the United States who attempts as he did in the past to upend the will of the voters in a free and fair election. And I'm going to tell you that I have traveled the world as vice president of the United States. And world leaders are laughing at Donald Trump. I have talked with military leaders, some of whom worked with you. And they say you're a disgrace.”
As the debate continued, they turned to the topic of foreign policy.
It was here that Kamala Harris delivered one of her most personally searing attacks on Donald Trump, who was visibly squirming throughout the remarks:
“He's trying to again divide and distract from the reality, which is it is very well known that Donald Trump is weak and wrong on national security and foreign policy. It is well known that he admires dictators, wants to be a dictator on day one, according to himself. It is well known that he said of Putin that he can do whatever the hell he wants and go into Ukraine. It is well known that he said when Russia went into Ukraine, it was brilliant. It is well known that he exchanged love letters with Kim Jong-un. And it is absolutely well known that these dictators and autocrats are rooting for you to be president again because they're so clear, they can manipulate you with flattery and favors. And that is why so many military leaders who you have worked with have told me you are a disgrace. That is why we understand that we have to have a president who is not consistently weak and wrong on national security including the importance of upholding and respecting in highest regard our military.”
Kamala Harris calling Trump a weak disgrace that dictators think they can manipulate with flattery will make Trump lose sleep for the foreseeable future.
Trump responded by inexplicitly praising far-right authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán, who is beloved by the Project 2025 architects at the Heritage Foundation and far-right zealots like Tucker Carlson.
This proved Harris’s point.
A Homerun From Harris
There is so much more I could cover, but I really think everything else after that dictator beatdown was Kamala Harris doing an endzone dance. She already won, big.
By every objective measure, Kamala Harris handily dominated Donald Trump in that debate. Not only was everyone in mainstream media in agreement, but even right-wing commentators effectively acknowledged that he lost by targeting their grievances at the moderators. When you lose, you attack the refs. Classic tactic.
We’ll see how this debate impacts polling, but one thing is clear: Kamala Harris once again proved why she should be the next President of the United States.
Great wrap up, Ahmed. Kamala was brilliant. And the initial handshake threw her opponent off guard from the beginning. I could not believe when he actually brought up the Hungarian despot. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.