Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: After an assassination attempt on him in July, that left him with a bandaged right ear, the Time magazine aptly described Donald Trump as the “Man of the Ear.” His popularity suddenly soared and the incumbent Joe Biden lost his second shot at the White House to his deputy Kamala Harris who now ‘threatens’ to become the United States’ first woman president.
If Trump loses, he will have the dubious distinction of defeating a woman, Hillary Clinton (2016), and then losing to another woman, Kamala Harris (2024).
As their supporters clashed outside the ABC News studios and elsewhere, their first televised debate on Tuesday in a much-awaited face-off had all the optics but little substance. They debated and attacked each other on hackneyed issues with predictable phrases. But Harris’ performance was far better than Biden’s poor showoff on June 27.
While Trump is largely supported by wealthy Americans and conservative Christians, Harris’ vote count is said to be rising among all the others—including women, and the immigrants, who see in her a hope for their future.
Early media reports indicated that, in sharp contrast to Biden’s poor performance, Harris, well-prepared like the brilliant lawyer that she is, was visibly confident and focused at the ABC prime-time debate held in Philadelphia.
The US media gave the edge to Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris, 59, in her heated debate with Republican rival former President Donald Trump, 78.
ABC News, which hosted the debate, focused on the alleged falsehoods and conspiracies that Trump resorted to in a desperate attempt to outshine Harris. He was put on the defensive early in the debate as Harris didn’t waste time in attacking Trump, it said.
Politico declared Harris the winner of the debate – and said it wasn’t even a close victory. She repeatedly baited him and knocked him off balance, it said.
The New York Times said Harris “owned much of the night” as she used her skills as a prosecutor to put Trump on the defensive in the very beginning.
Harris was expected to defend the Biden administration’s performance, but NYT pointed out her Republican rival was left defending his own record as President rather than picking on her misses.
Trump looked “miserable,” resorting to crowd sizes and conspiracies – which captured his difficult night, the NYT said. Harris was well prepared to lead him astray.
The Washington Post said Trump often strayed from facts and resorted to debunked theories about the 2020 presidential polls that he lost, and immigration.
Harris called out Trump’s “same old tired playbook, a bunch of lies, grievances and name-calling,” declaring the ex-President has no plan for the people and is more interested in defending himself.
The Post said Harris ably delivered her case against Trump in a way that Biden struggled to do in June. She was ready with retorts to most of Trump’s charges, it added.
CNN said Trump took every bait that Harris used to throw him off his game. The Vice President was well prepared and her every retort was designed to enrage Trump, who was often out of control, it said.
Trump nearly choked on Harris’ baits, it reported, pointing out that he went on a bizarre spell insisting that migrants eat Americans’ pets.
Fox News tried a balancing act but focused on Trump having to spar with the ABC News debate moderators for fact-checking him.
Trump was initially leading in national polls against Biden, but the entry of Harris changed the game. Latest polls suggest the two leaders are neck and neck with the Democrat maintaining a marginal lead over her Republican rival.