Election 2024

Liz Wolfe | 9.10.2024 9:34 AM

What to watch for tonight: Hopefully, both candidates will appear cogent and awake, which will be a welcome change from last time.

That's not to say either is a great debater or speaker. It was back in 2019 that former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D–Hawaii)—then an actual Democrat vs. a Fox News talking head—forced Vice President Kamala Harris into a defensive crouch, saying Harris owed apologies to people who "suffered under [her] reign" as prosecutor, which Harris responded to ineptly.

Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has been on a tear lately, holding a press conference on Friday during which he…reminded voters of all the sexual assault and harassment allegations against him, which is seemingly not in his best interest. ("The former president also repeatedly implied he would not have assaulted two of his accusers due to their looks," read a clinical Associated Press write-up of the conference.)

Though the candidates are neck and neck in the polls, Trump has had a bad August. Harris, meanwhile, was able to ride a bit of Democratic National Convention news cycle momentum but is now concerned about the debate format.

"Kamala Harris had planned to object, fact-check and directly question Donald Trump while he was speaking during their debate next week,"........

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