Kamala Harris’s willingness—or lack thereof—to debate Donald Trump has started to become a central question in the 2024 election, whether the media is willing to acknowledge it or not.
Her less-than-stellar performance in a recent CNN interview has only intensified doubts about whether she truly wants to step onto the debate stage.
The debate, scheduled for September 10 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and hosted by ABC News, could be a defining moment in this campaign. The last debate was consequential enough to force Joe Biden to drop out of the race. Kamala may not be Joe, but that doesn’t mean this debate won’t have a significant impact on the race. Top pollster Frank Luntz predicted, based on Harris' CNN performance, that Kamala will lose the debate.
Body language experts also panned her performance. Susan Constantine told Fox News that Harris was visibly uncomfortable during the interview, frequently looking down, breaking eye contact, and depending heavily on her running mate, Tim Walz, for support. These signs, according to Constantine, indicate a lack of confidence and an inability to project the presidential demeanor required to take on a figure like Trump.
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Greg Hartley, a former U.S. Army interrogator, also pointed out to Just the News that Harris struggled to maintain eye contact and deliver clear responses, showing signs of being poorly prepared and unsure of herself.
If Harris can’t handle a softball interview from a friendly network, how can she possibly be ready to debate Donald Trump? The idea of facing him in a live debate must be terrifynig her and her campaign, and it is obvious they are seeking an exit strategy by making a stink about the previously agreed upon rules.
“I think that the Harris campaign is looking for an escape hatch, is looking for a way to get out of this debate,” Trump advisor Jason Miller told Fox News. “To be clear, these are the rules that the Democrats wrote. These are the rules that we had in place for the CNN debate. Everyone had agreed to the rules at least informally with ABC.”
Related: It Looks Like Kamala Is About To Chicken Out of Debating Trump
The Trump campaign has already agreed to the rules with ABC, but the Harris campaign is crying foul. Why is that? Miller has a theory.
“I think the Harris folks started going into debate prep and now they realize what they are working with,” he said. “They realize that they're in real trouble with Kamala Harris.”
“I think they're nervous and want a way out,” he concluded.
Jason Miller: "They are really on trouble with Kamala Harris. They also know President Trump is a greatest debater in a modern political history. I think they are nervous and looking for a way to get out of this debate." pic.twitter.com/FRPTc2zeyb
— Real Mac Report (@RealMacReport) September 1, 2024
I agree, but this all goes to the key question: Which move is politically safer for Kamala -- backing out or risking a disastrous debate performance? Both have the chance to be politically damaging for her.
To answer that question, just look at what happened to Joe Biden. For three and a half years, the mainstream media covered for him, insisting that his cognitive decline was fake news. The debate exposed the truth. Kamala will certainly come across as a coward if she backs out, but the mainstream media will, without a doubt, cover for her. They will push the Harris-Walz campaign line that Trump was playing games over the rules for having agreed to not having live microphones when it's not the candidate's turn to speak.
Joe Biden had his defenders after his disastrous debate performance, but the public had seen it and saw what the media had been covering up for years. Kamala's politically safest move is to back out of the debate and blame Trump for it because the media will push the narrative that it was Trump's fault. Do I really think it will work? Not entirely. Independent voters will see right through it, but the Harris-Walz campaign at least can avoid a debate that might completely destroy her.
