By Mayank Chhaya-
In her first and likely only presidential debate Vice President Kamala Harris repeatedly baited and hooked former President Donald Trump in a precise strategy that won her the night by a wide consensus.
Throughout the 90-minute debate, Harris managed to consistently needle Trump with the consummate ease of a seasoned prosecutor. She often looked at Trump in amused bewilderment, sometimes putting her hand on her chin, as he took off on his familiar flight of doom and despair. Even his concluding statement was bereft of any optimism for the people of America while hers was sanguinely invested in the ambitions and aspirations of the citizens.
“It’s time to turn the page,” she said in a simple yet politically effective sum in contrast to her opponent’s bilious vision about not just America but even the world, including offering portentous prediction of a World War III with nuclear weapons.
From women’s reproductive rights to the Israel-Gaza war and from fracking to immigration and everything in between Harris offered a carefully constructed articulation belying apprehensions among certain quarters that she may wilt under the glare of both her adversary and, via television, of his supporters.
“One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government — and Donald Trump, certainly — should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” Harris said in what could be one of the most powerful pronouncements aimed at the women voters of the country, who overwhelmingly favor her irrespective of their ideological predilections.
In contrast, Trump kept dragging in the issue of illegal immigration through America’s southern border in response to many completely unrelated questions. What could have been problematic for Harris instead became blunted by the former president’s frequent recourse to it.
It was a measure of how utterly unfocused Trump became at one point that he claimed that migrants were abducting household pets such as dogs and cats and eating them even as Harris looked on incredulously.
Contrary to expectations Harris walked up to Trump at the beginning of the debate to shake hands introducing herself as “Kamala Harris.” The two were meeting for the first time ever. That the meeting took place at the top of what was widely seen as a historic debate was remarkable.
Harris did not shy from being aggressive by at least twice calling Trump a “disgrace” by quoting former top military generals and others. The chose of the word “disgrace” was interesting because it is something that Trump routinely uses.
It was obvious that Trump was mostly winging his answer, particularly his concluding statement which was extraordinarily foreboding about America’s future in contrast to Harris’s which was forward-looking and optimistic.
It is clear after the debate that Harris has established herself as the dominant player during the 56 days remaining until the election on November 5. It is a long enough time for things to go wrong but if he precision and self-assurance with which she handled Trump in her first-ever debate, then she seems to be on a strong wicket.
