Kamala Harris’ main goals in the debate with Donald Trump. Look presidential, keep her cool

Kamala Harris’ chief mission in her Tuesday debate with Donald Trump is to convince voters that she has the gravitas and temperament to be president of the United States.

“Debate viewers are often less interested in particularly detailed information and more interested in the feel a candidate gives them,” said Tammy Vigil, associate professor of media science at Boston University.

That’s not an issue for Trump. People have known the former president and television personality for decades. Harris has been largely in the political shadows for three and a half years as Joe Biden’s vice president. She’s still being defined in the public mind.

“Harris needs to let the audience get to know her as a leader and a person,” Vigil said.

That means she should “stress her experiences as a stepmother to make herself more relevant to women struggling with big issues,” such as the economy, gun violence and children’s mental health, “ said Susan MacManus, a Tampa, Fla.,-based political analyst.

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At the same time, she needs to make voters see how “she’s gonna have to stand next to (Russian president Vladimir) Putin” and other world leaders, and command their respect, said Brad Coker, managing director at Mason-Dixon Polling & Research in Jacksonville.

Harris and Trump will debate for 90 minutes starting at 6 p.m. PDT Tuesday. They’ll meet at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center in what at the moment is the only scheduled debate between them.

David Muir, anchor of ABC’s “World News Tonight,” and Linsey Davis, an ABC correspondent and anchor, will moderate the debate, which will have two breaks. Candidates will get two minutes to answer each question and two minutes to respond to their rival’s answer. They’ll also be permitted another minute for a rebuttal.

Vice presidential candidates JD Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, and Tim Walz, the Democratic governor Minnesota, are to debate October 1.

Harris’ target audience is a narrow slice of the electorate, since polls show most Democrats have embraced her while most Republicans are strong for Trump..

“Her goal is not to persuade people to vote for her instead of Trump. It’s persuading people who might otherwise not vote to vote for her, and persuading people who may vote for Trump to stay home,” said Amber Boydstun, professor of political science at University of California, Davis.

Harris can accomplish her goals in several ways, experts said:

Set the agenda

“Play to win,” said Antjuan Seawright, a Columbia, S.C.-based Democratic strategist. “Keep the conversation on policy and be specific, and do not allow Trump to drive the narrative.”

Harris has stressed how helping middle and lower income people is a major priority, and vowed no household with an income of less than $400,000 will pay higher taxes under her administration. She also talks about time as a prosecutor–San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general–to illustrate how she can be tough on crime.

Stick to those talking points, said Bob Mulholland, a veteran California Democratic strategist, and don’t spend too much time reacting to Trump.

“I’m tired of watching Democrats on defense, too often answering to imbecile Trump’s childlike diatribes,” he said. Harris “should use the debate opportunity to have a conversation with the American people, as if she is with them at their kitchen tables.”

Get to the point

Harris has a history of talking in what critics call “word salads,” where she gives her views in long, winding sentences.

“She always strikes me as having some level of anxiety,” said Coker, which is why she’s prone to lengthy explanations of her views.

Being pointed, though, is particularly important against Trump.

“His comments, while often incorrect or not based in fact, often “feel” correct to people who are seeking places to point fingers for their problems. Trump’s ability to play to the crowd is a distinct advantage for him.,” said Vigil.

Therefore, said Boydstun, the most important thing Harris can do is “give him the space to make bad headlines for himself. The second most important thing is to keep her responses short and substantive.”

Be presidential

“She’s already at a disadvantage as a woman to the American public,” since no woman has ever been president, said Boydstun.

That’s not insurmountable. “Show confidence and character,” said Seawright. Be tough and “project strength and confidence,” said Coker.

Harris is the fourth woman to run on a major party’s presidential ticket, but the first to ever run twice. She was the vice presidential candidate in 2020 and debated Vice President Mike Pence, so she goes into this debate with an experience unique for a woman.

Deal carefully with Biden

Vice presidents have long had a problem trying to separate themselves from their bosses. That’s why, since 1836, only one vice president, George H. W. Bush in 1988, was elected to immediately succeed a president who served a full term. .

Trump has been relentlessly blaming Harris for being part of the team in power when inflation hit a 40 year high, undocumented immigrants poured across the U.S.-Mexico border and the U.S. had an ugly withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Harris also faces another problem: She’s changed some of her positions before she became vice president. She no longer supports Medicare for all, or repeats her 2016 boast that she was California’s “top cop.”….

The way to combat all these obstacles is to “assert herself as experienced, knowledgeable, and forward looking and project an image of being able to stand on her own two feet,” said Florida’s MacManus.

When asked about the position changes in the CNN interview, Harris explained that her values hadn’t changed.

Stay cool

Virtually no one recommended getting into a battle of insults with the former president.

”The most important thing she has to do is get out of Trump’s way,” said UC Davis’ Boydstun.

“She needs to stay on topic, stay calm, not pick a fight. If he starts down a road of inflammatory comments she should stay quiet and let him go on that path alone,” she said.