Kamala Harris Ended Donald Trump In Philadelphia

Kamala Harris may not have won an election, but she and her team put together a perfect debate performance that ended Donald Trump.

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The Debate Was An Extension Of Campaign Dynamics

In the modern era, presidential debates have morphed into weird little TV productions that have often existed in their own universes outside the presidential election's inertia.

Debates have become scripted by both campaigns, and one of the negative innovations that came to the debate stage with Donald Trump in 2016 was the idea that if a candidate didn’t like the question being posed by a moderator, they could ignore it and talk about whatever they want instead.

Candidates could stick to their scripted answers—yes, they're made for cable news zingers—and the debates wouldn’t change any minds because, outside of a line or two, they would be forgotten in a few days.

The Harris/Trump debate was immediately different. Kamala Harris came out with more energy. Donald Trump immediately looked and sounded unplugged, disinterested, and old.

It took exactly six minutes for Trump to wander off topic and start ranting about immigrants, while Harris spoke to the American people and talked about the future.

I watch both candidates daily, so the pattern was obvious, and immediately ominous for Trump.

Just as the Harris rallies are tight get-in and get-to-the-point gatherings, where the candidate wants to deliver her message, keep the crowd fired up, and maintain the energy of the room, Trump expects the audience to be there for him as he rambles from topic to topic for literal hours on end to the point where even his most devoted followers leave.

The same dynamic played out in the debate.

Trump didn’t have any real message. Harris had a message and perfectly delivered it. The debate wasn’t a departure from what happens daily on the campaign trail. It was an extension of it, and tens of millions of Americans saw it with their own eyes.

Kamala Harris Knew How To Handle Trump

People claiming the election is over after the debate are BSing for video views or clicks. Political science research reveals that debates don't decide elections in our current politically polarized environment.

What debates can do is effectively confirm perceptions in the minds of the electorate. Coming into the debate, voters expressed concerns about Trump’s physical and mental fitness for office in the polls.

As we saw in the Biden debate, Donald Trump doesn’t implode on his own. Kamala Harris and her campaign know this, so they set the perfect trap by talking about Trump’s rally crowds.