Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump: What to watch for in the presidential debate

Tuesday’s debate will last 90 minutes, but its most important moments will likely take only a few seconds.

People tend to remember presidential debates for their viral moments. John F. Kennedy’s energy and youth. Ronald Reagan asking if people were better off now than four years ago. Donald Trump circling–stalking Hillary Clinton.

The debate, moderated by ABC’s David Muir and LinseyDavis, will have one feature unique to modern encounters. Vice President Kamala Harris entered the presidential race only seven weeks ago, after President Joe Biden dropped out.

She’s largely unknown to most voters, so impressions forged Tuesday, and video clips that go viral, could create a lasting impression since this is the only scheduled presidential debate this year.

Each candidate will get two minutes to answer questions, and their rival will get two minutes to respond. Candidates can then have another minute for further response.

What has the greatest potential to create those moments? Here are four questions whose ultimate answers will help gauge how the debate, which begins at 6 p.m. PDT, is going:

Who is Kamala Harris?

So far the public has seen the Democratic nominee almost exclusively in scripted moments, such as the Democratic convention last month or at campaign events.

“There’s so little you get to see of her. That’s why this debate is important,” said John Fortier, senior fellow at Washington’s American Enterprise Institute.

Trump is trying hard to define her. He says Harris is “dangerously liberal.” He says she was influential during the Biden administration and shares blame for keeping prices high. How does Harris respond to all that?

“She’s not well known. This is her opportunity,” said Fortier.

Can Trump and Harris reach voters emotionally?

“Trump has a flair for appealing to emotions in a way that encourages listeners to ignore reason. While this is not actually a good thing, it does mean he draws and keeps attention from a wide range of viewers,” said Tammy Vigil, professor of media science at Boston University.

“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,” she said.

Will the candidates show empathy?

While Trump has mastered the art of articulating voters’ fears, Harris goes for empathy by stressing her middle class roots.

“I grew up in a middle-class household. For most of my childhood, we were renters,” Harris says on her Facebook page. “My mother saved for well over a decade to buy a home. I was a teenager when the day finally came—and I can still remember how excited she was.”

Stressing that background could be an important edge for Harris, said Chris Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion.

“She has an advantage over Trump right now in public perceptions of her as both a person and as someone fit to be president, so burnishing that standing through a debate performance that highlights these characteristics will be very beneficial to her candidacy,” he said.

Who will produce the night’s most remembered line or look?

This is often the key to who succeeds.

Harris has been criticized for giving wordy, hard to understand answers to simple questions and sometimes looking like she’s lecturing.

“She could get pulled into correcting him so often that she fails to make her own case and argument. It could make her look like a teacher scolding an uninformed student instead of a leader in her own right,” said Vigil.

“This is particularly an issue because of the gendered expectations and stereotypes about women, particularly those in powerful positions.”

That’s why Harris needs to keep her comments short and substantive, said Amber Boydstun, professor of political science at the University of California, Davis.

“Strategically, the most important thing Harris can do is to give Trump the space to make bad headlines for himself,” Boydstun said.