After US President Joe Biden’s disastrous performance in the June debate, not only there were calls of him being replaced but there was also a deeper fear in the minds of Democrats. Would they be able to stop Donald Trump from making a comeback and taking control of the Oval Office?
The former US president looked all set for a possible win, with polls favouring him over Biden and a failed assassination attempt on his life further boosting his ratings, but Biden’s dropping out and endorsing Kamala Harris, the US vice-president proved to be a gamechanger.
Harris, who only jumped into the race after President Biden quit in July, has rapidly transformed herself from a little-noticed vice president into a serious contender. However, the polls show she has not made a major breakthrough, leaving the race a toss-up.
The latest polling confirms that Trump retains locked-in support from about half of voters, despite the Republican’s historic status as a convicted felon and his role in instigating the unprecedented attempt to overturn his 2020 loss to Joe Biden.
Harris arrived at 4.40pm (2040 GMT) Monday in the eastern city of Philadelphia where the debate takes place, while Trump is not due to touch down until hours before Tuesday evening’s clash on ABC News.
How Prepared Are They
Harris spent the weekend cloistered in a historic hotel in downtown Pittsburgh where she focused on honing crisp two-minute answers, per the debate’s rules.
Meanwhile, Trump has publicly dismissed the value of studying for the debate. The former president is choosing instead to fill his days with campaign-related events.
Kamala Harris has honed an aggressive but calibrated approach to debates. She tries to blend punch lines with details that build toward a broader narrative. Tuesday’s presidential debate will put the Democratic vice president’s skills to a test unlike any she’s faced.
Donald Trump appears to be a seasoned adversary as he will participate in his seventh general election debate since 2016 for an event that will be seen by tens of millions of viewers just as early voting in November’s election starts around the country.
The two candidates have never even met before, and the debate is set to be a contrast in styles between a former prosecutor and a convicted felon who has targeted Harris with racist and sexist insults.
What Outcomes Are Trump And Kamala Expecting
The 59-year-old Harris’s honeymoon after replacing the aging Joe Biden at the top of the ticket appears to be fading, with polls showing she needs to reach out to voters who don’t know much about her policies.
She addressed the growing pressure late Sunday when her campaign put out a policy page, touching on subjects from unions and cost-of-living issues to health care.
Trump, 78, will be under pressure to rein in his insults and aggression as he goes up against a mixed-race candidate vying to be the first female president in US history.
Both will know the high stakes of what is so far the only scheduled debate in the shortest election campaign in modern US political history.
The most recent polls show the race remains on a knife-edge. A New York Times/Siena poll on Sunday found that Trump is leading Harris nationally by 48 to 47 percent, well within the margin of error.
An ABC News poll/Ipsos poll on Monday showed Harris leading Trump 50 to 46 percent.
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