Presidential Debate

Joe Lancaster | 9.11.2024 2:42 PM

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump met for their first presidential debate on Tuesday night. While Harris' performance was hardly masterful, it didn't matter, as Trump was too consumed by conjecture and fake stories from social media to make an effective case for himself.

Harris had arguably the tougher job of the night—to make a positive case for her candidacy while somehow also distancing herself from the unpopular Biden administration in which she has served as vice president—and it's hard to argue that she did so effectively.

For example, on the very first question of the night, moderator David Muir asked Harris, "When it comes to the economy, do you believe Americans are better off than they were four years ago?"

Harris then gave a discursive two-minute response in which she never managed to use the word yes. Given the opportunity to make an affirmative case for President Joe Biden's administration and her role in it, Harris instead gave a meandering answer in which she touched on her upbringing and her policy proposals while never explicitly defending her record since taking office in 2021.

But instead of capitalizing on any of her stumbles, Trump proved unable to overcome his preoccupations with long-disproven claims more suited to your uncle's Facebook page than a presidential debate. Muir asked why Trump helped kill a bipartisan immigration bill earlier this year.

Biden and Harris are "allowing…millions and millions of people to come into our........

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