Five Takeaways From the Trump-Harris Debate

The morning after the Trump-Harris debate, I have some thoughts.

1. Trump didn’t prepare.

Let’s not sugarcoat it — Donald Trump didn’t have his strongest showing. I know I’ll get flak for saying so, but it’s true. If you think Trump prepared for this debate, you’re kidding yourself. We got the same old Trump we’ve seen at every other debate and at his rallies. The problem is that’s not good enough.

Kamala Harris may have over-prepared and came across as rehearsed and inauthentic, but she knew what she wanted to say on each topic and said it. Trump, however, sounded like he was flying by the seat of his pants, using old talking points that Kamala was expecting. Worse yet, we knew that Kamala’s strategy was to bait him, and he took the bait pretty much every time.

2. It likely won't move the needle for either candidate.

Aside from the Biden-Trump debate back in June, partisan reactions to debates follow the same pattern: Both sides walk away declaring victory, even when it’s far from clear-cut. Trump supporters saw him holding his ground in what was essentially a three-against-one battle (Harris and the moderators vs. Trump), taking on Harris's lies.

On the other side, Harris's fans might view her as calm, composed, and successfully getting under Trump's skin. This is nothing new; debates have been watered down so much that they tend to reinforce existing biases rather than sway undecided voters. Both candidates have their loyal base, and it's unlikely that this debate did much to change minds.

3. ABC was just awful.

This is a no-brainer. Trump has long accused the media of bias, and this debate proved him right many times over. ABC’s David Muir and Linsey Davis carried Kamala Harris throughout the debate, never once fact-checking her blatant lies. It was exactly the kind of one-sided performance Trump has been calling out for years.

Who would've thought we’d be nostalgic for CNN’s Dana Bash and Jake Tapper as moderators?

4. Trump wasn't at his best, but...

As much as I felt Trump’s performance wasn’t great, it wasn’t a disaster. I’ve watched a lot of debates, and as much as I think Trump could have done better, I thought Trump did worse in his debates against Hillary.

I also think he did better than Barack Obama did in his first debate against Mitt Romney in 2012. I remember watching that debate and being so excited after it was over because I was convinced Romney would ultimately win the election. Of course, Obama knew he flopped and came back stronger in subsequent debates.

This leads me to the next point.

5. Another debate could be a good idea, but...

Before the dust had even settled after the debate, the Harris-Walz campaign called for a second one, which some saw as a sign that the team believes that Kamala didn’t perform as well as she needed to. Given Trump’s less-than-stellar showing, agreeing to a second debate could be smart for him — but only if he’s more prepared.

I suspect that Trump’s biggest weakness was his overconfidence. He thought he could coast through the debate like he did against Joe Biden and thus didn’t need to prepare. But here's the truth: Trump didn’t "win" against Biden; Biden just imploded.

Trump’s campaign advisors need to make it clear to Trump that if he wants to do a second debate, he needs to prepare for it. If he won't, then there won’t be a debate. Plain and simple.

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