1 week Ago By Chris Bradford
KAMALA Harris will need to turn to quick one-line replies when Donald Trump hurls attacks during Tuesday's eagerly-anticipated presidential debate, a former Biden adviser has said. The vice president and the tycoon will face off against each other in the much-awaited showdown that will air on ABC. Harris has enjoyed a steady bounce in the polls since launching her presidential campaign in July and Trump’s lead has been reduced.
But the race to 270 electoral college votes is on a knife edge with Trump and Harris leading across a wide range of polls. Harris is narrowly ahead in the national polls - but that doesn’t decide who ends up in the White House. Polls across the seven swing states are within the margin of error days from the Harris-Trump clash.
read more on Election 2024 Despite Harris' national lead, Moe Vela, who served as senior adviser to Joe Biden during his vice presidency, said Democrats need to keep their foot on the gas if they want to defeat Trump. He also believes that Harris will show off a new "fierceness" compared to her previous campaign and he disclosed the areas where she can score points on Tuesday. He warned the vice president cannot get dragged into the gutter if Trump attacks her character.
"Trump is like a shock candidate," Vela told The U.S. Sun.
Most read in The US Sun "In order to beat him at the debate, she's got to do exactly what she has been doing: stay right on message. "Don't let him throw you off your game." Vela also noted the contrast that will be on display given the almost 20-year age gap between the candidates.
"You've got an old man who rambles and is a sensationalist shock-jock kind of candidate versus this new generation of leadership with this kind of fresh energy and vigor," he added. Vela emphasized the contrast changes the dynamics before the debate even starts. He urged Harris to be quick and sharp in her responses when Trump tries to quiz her on her record.
Talking points in the debate will revolve around Harris' record as vice president and how the candidates will tackle challenges ranging from the cost of living to immigration . Vela revealed what he would be saying to Harris if he was on her team. KAMALA Harris and Donald Trump will have their first presidential debate on September 10.
The U.S. Sun has everything you need to know: The debate, which will last for 90 minutes, kicks off at 9pm ET and will air on ABC.
It will also be shown on ABC News' 24/7 streaming network, Hulu and Disney+. The debate will be moderated by ABC stars Linsey Davis and David Muir . Harris and Trump will not make opening statements.
The candidates will have two minutes to answer a question. Then, there is a two-minute window for debate. An additional minute can be used for clarification or a follow-up.
Trump prevailed in a virtual coin toss and chose to make the final closing statement. Both closing statements will be two minutes long. Harris and Trump's microphones will be muted when their rival is speaking.
Neither candidate will be able to ask their opponent questions. Both candidates can have a pen and some paper at their podiums. But, they are unable to take pre-written notes into the contest.
There will be two commercial breaks but Trump and Harris' campaign teams will not be able to give tips to their respective candidates. Source: ABC News. "What she needs to do is be ready with these very quick one-liners - for example 'Oh, Donald, there you go again,'" he said.
"So don't take up your two-minute answers on the topic, a one-liner, boom, and back to the camera." Vela believes Trump will try to score points when it comes to the Biden-Harris' record on immigration and the tycoon will try to cast her as a San Francisco liberal. "You can guess the top five," Vela said.
But the ex-adviser warned Trump shouldn't underestimate Harris and shouldn't read too much into her performances during the 2020 Democratic primary. Don't let him throw you off your game. Harris' campaign failed to get off the ground and she ended her campaign in December 2019.
Harris exited the Democratic presidential primary race before the Iowa contest held in February 2020. "This is a very different Kamala Harris ," Vela said. "I was very critical of her in 2020.
I did not support her. "I was extremely critical. I was extremely doubtful of her capabilities and talents and here we are.
" In a warning to Trump, Vela added: "Donald, if you think you're going to get that same 2020 Kamala - you are underestimating the fierceness and the force." Trump has tried to frame Harris as a radical, attacking her for her views on crime and the economy. But, Vela revealed that Harris should clearly state that she wasn't the so-called border czar and should tout the administration's achievements.
"That just completely dents his attack. First, you point out 'You're lying but here's the truth.'" REBUTTING THE ATTACKS Harris and Walz are trying to offer a vision of common sense politics as they try to cast clear blue water between themselves and the duo of Trump and his attack dog JD Vance .
She is trying to present a fresh agenda but critics have quizzed her on why she hasn’t implemented particular proposals while serving in government. Vela has shared the line that can stop the attack line dead in its tracks. He recommended Harris should stress that she is the vice president rather than the commander in chief.
“A vice president has a boss,” Vela said. “And the boss’s title is president and that’s her response: ' I respected my boss.' “I can extend my advice and counsel but at the end of the day, it is his final decision, not mine.
” Harris came under fire and was accused of being complicit in the bungled withdrawal of Afghanistan as the nation marked the third anniversary of the exit last month. “Trump’s gonna say ‘You claim you were the last person in the room.’ That doesn’t mean I had the decision," Vela said “I didn’t have the authority to make the final decision.
I was a team player. I was a partner, but I knew who my boss was.” A TIGHT RACE Tuesday’s showdown will take place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania .
Pennsylvania, with its 19 electoral votes, is just one of the seven swing states that Harris and Trump are fighting for. The debate will be moderated by ABC’s Linsey Davis and David Muir and will last for 90 minutes. Harris and Trump will have two minutes to answer a question.
Then, there will be a two-minute window for rebuttal. An extra minute is then available that can be used for follow-up, according to the rules set out by ABC chiefs. Trump won a virtual coin toss and has chosen to make the final closing statement.
Both closing statements will be two minutes long, according to the rules. But, there will be no opening statements meaning the two presidential candidates will get straight down to business . Like the debate between Biden and Trump, the candidates’ microphones will be muted when it is not their turn.
Harris’s team was reportedly unsuccessful in trying to change the rules. Harris and Trump will be able to have a pen and paper at their podium, but can’t take pre-written notes into the debate. There will be two commercial breaks, but Trump nor Harris staffers will be able to advise their respective candidates.
Vela admitted that the rules of the debate benefit Trump and warned that Harris may not see a huge polling surge even if she performs well. A REPUBLICAN BIAS? Average polls suggest she has a national polling lead of just under two percentage points, according to Real Clear Politics. But, despite the Democrats' national polling advantage, victory is far from certain.
This is because of the perceived Electoral College bias toward the Republican Party . A problem for the Democrats is that they tend to win deep-blue states by large margins. Sometimes, they lose the swing states by very small margins.
For example, California's 54 electoral votes would still go in the Democrats column if the candidate carried the state by one or almost 30 percentage points. Trump in 2016 and George W. Bush in 2000 won the keys to the White House - despite coming up short nationally Research by Silver Bulletin revealed that even if Harris has a national lead of one to two percentage points, then Trump has a 61.
4% chance of winning the electoral college. That margin is reduced significantly depending on the size of Harris' lead. But, if it is a dead heat nationally, the odds are heavily stacked toward Trump.
If Trump is leading nationally by more than two points, the odds of Harris prevailing are next to none. Polymarket suggests a 51% chance that Trump will win the presidency, but a 71% chance that Harris will win the popular vote. Harris is considered the favorite to win the popular vote given the Democrats' sizable advantages in California and New York.
Trump has been the favorite to win the presidency for around three weeks, according to Polymarket. Read More on The US Sun But, the race is far more unpredictable than the 71% chance of victory Trump had in mid-July. Real Clear Politics suggests Harris would narrowly secure victory with 273 electoral college votes, compared to Trump's 265 votes if the election was held tomorrow.
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