Maybe someday someone will write a book about last night’s presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. I’m not waiting. Here’s my review of the debate.

Harris caught Trump off guard even before the debate began by striding across the stage to his podium and shaking his hand. I wasn’t expecting a handshake at all, and it’s clear Trump wasn’t either. By confidently walking into his “territory” she showed she wasn’t afraid of him and wasn’t going to be intimidated by him. Maybe it was also payback for Trump’s prowling behind Hilary Clinton during their debate back in 2016.

Harris’s facial expressions during the debate were wonderfully varied, from mocking to disbelieving to dismissive. I’m sure they’ll be the source of memes for years to come. She looked like she was enjoying herself up there. Meanwhile, all Trump could manage was a smug, condescending smirk.

The contrast between Harris and Trump on the issues couldn’t have been clearer. They’re not even on the same planet. Here’s Harris talking about turning the page on divisiveness, about working to solve problems faced by young families, small businesses and seniors. And there’s Trump spewing apocalyptic rhetoric about the US being in decline and its economy destroyed, about millions of criminals swarming over the border and, yet again, about the size of his rallies.

These debates are always light on policy details, but Harris at least highlighted a few of her proposals. I do not recall Trump uttering a single one. Come to think of it, I’m not sure he uttered a single coherent sentence. The closest he came to policy was announcing that he has “concepts of a plan” on health care, and that somehow, magically, he would end the war in Ukraine even before taking office.

Climate change is the most important election issue for me, and I was disappointed that neither Harris nor Trump said anything useful about this topic. In fact, both of them seemed to celebrate the fact that the US is now producing more oil and gas than at any time in history. The world needs to move away from fossil fuels. Most countries, including the US, have committed to doing so, but you’d never know it from last night’s debate.

Trump babbled insanely about immigrants eating dogs and cats. The fact that this nut job is on the presidential debate stage and not in a psychiatric hospital tells you everything you need to know about the sad state of US politics.

And it is truly alarming that a convicted criminal who incited a violent mob to overturn the 2020 election still has the support of nearly half the American electorate. That tells you a lot about US politics too.

On the bright side, Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz moments after the debate ended.

Thanks for reading.

Related Links

“Harris Had a Theory of Trump, and It Was Right.“
Analysis of the Harris Trump debate by Ezra Klein on The Ezra Klein Show podcast, 11 Sep. 2024.