Harris Will Slay This Dragon
Kamala Harris will take on Donald Trump and his abundance of lies tonight in Philadelphia in a Presidential Debate that will be as satisfying as it is historical.
Vice President Kamala Harris will debate Donald Trump this evening in the pivotal swing state of Pennsylvania, following weeks of back and forth negotiations over the venue and moderators. Tonight’s debate is critical, in that it will showcase the policies of the Harris/Walz Campaign with only a few weeks to go before the election — a move that is essential for Harris who launched her campaign in August. The event also follows the disastrous meet-up between President Biden and Donald Trump in July, where a lack of fact checking and a refusal to cut off microphones only added to the calamity.
In May, just ahead of the first Presidential Debate between Biden and Trump, I published an article entitled, Are the Debates a Mistake, in which I analyzed the format and moderators of that event, and contrasted that with the possible pitfalls for the campaigns. At that time, I still believed there was a chance that Donald Trump would bail out of the meeting at the last moment, in a move meant to garner attention, and somehow look strong. Today, I am simply crossing my fingers that Donald Trump moves forward with this debate, and walks right into the Kamala Harris trap, in the same way that many California defense attorneys have mistakenly done.
While we do need to discuss a few issues that will inevitably be discussed tonight, reviewing the previous Trump debates has reminded me that what will happen tonight will be a showdown of tactics, composure and skill. Make no mistake, both Hillary Clinton and President Biden have excelled in all of these areas in each Trump debate, but each time Trump was able to throw off his opponent by using inane accusations and excessive false bravado.
Those debates also occurred under a different premise — one where the Democratic Candidate still valued a certain level of dignity, and getting down to Trump’s level would have meant sacrificing that sacred political custom. Tonight will be different because Trump will be facing a woman who is first and foremost a prosecutor. Harris has worked in an arena where she dealt with men like Donald Trump every day. We have been wondering for years who or what could possibly neutralize Trump and his outrageous circus antics — I am here to tell you that tonight it will be Kamala Harris.
I know what is about to happen tonight from a place of inherent understanding; the kind that only comes from being raised by a woman who was a prosecutor. Nothing gets by these women. No exchange is ever boring or simple, even if you are at a grocery checkout or bartering with the local mechanic who is trying to rip you off. Women like this are human lie detectors and they move through life with an all-knowing confidence that they have your number and they will call it when it is up. Women like this take on the impossible as if it is the ordinary, and they do it with a steely, natural confidence that would have any mere mortal confessing to a crime they did not do.
I never lied to my mother as I was growing up, when most children are wont to do. There was no point — I was terrible at it and she was a machine. She has a look that she will throw at anyone who is beginning to lie to her. I have seen her do it as a mom, as a lawyer and as a judge. She has a tell: her eyes narrow and she places her tongue behind her teeth and moves her mouth slightly sideways. I’m sure Kamala Harris has a tell and I’m also positive that her family knows what it looks like.
When I was in law school, I used to love to shadow my mom in court hearings and watch the attorneys and defendants try to negotiate their way around her, all the while having critical insider knowledge of what she was thinking and when she would shut it down. There is nothing more beautiful than watching a truly gifted female prosecutor reach her limit and then behold her subsequent response. Trust me, you are about to see this phenomenon in all of its glory tonight.
There are many issues that need to be addressed and Kamala Harris will have no problem explaining to the public what her plans are and how she will enact her policy. Consider this her opening statement, and it will happen every time she is asked a question. You can expect Donald Trump to derail each and every topic whenever his microphone is switched on. Using the last Biden debate as a precursor, I can predict that Trump will bring up immigration as a response to each and every topic…even abortion…even infrastructure.
The debate tonight is a real chance for Kamala Harris to appeal to voters who have still not made up their minds or who are considering sitting out the election. She knows she will have only a minute or two to explain complex principles and remind the voter of what is best for them. She also knows that tonight is the night of a thousand sound bites, where getting that perfect two minute or under retort that shuts Donald Trump down once and for all and goes viral is the key to continuing the momentum garnered from the Democratic National Convention.
These are the things that Kamala Harris excels at doing. Think back to the Kavanaugh Hearings and the cross examination that Harris gave that poor little aging frat boy that now sits on the Supreme Court of the United States. Now compare that to Trump, who does not have even half of Brett Kavanaugh’s education or intellect. This is what we can expect tonight.
Kamala Harris has been dealing with lying men since the dawn of time, when lying white men ran the world. Her litigation skills have sharpened her natural instinct to spot a liar a mic away. Tonight we will have the privilege of watching someone control Donald Trump and his loathsome mouth. Kamala Harris will bait him like a mouse and bounce him back and forth between her paws. I know the kind of ferocious competitor Kamala Harris can be, because I was raised by a woman just like her.
Be sure to join me tonight in real time, at 9pm/ET on ABC as we watch the debate and revel in this beautiful moment together.
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter, is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and an analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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I am excited about this debate if for no other reason than watching Harris kick the shit out of that pile of monkey dung. I’m annoyed though that our farce of a media continues to do all they can to help Fat Don win without being too obvious about it. I mean for two weeks all we hear is how Harris has to nail it, has to lay out her policies, has to win over so-called undecided voters. Like Donnie is a serious man running a serious campaign. Our media infuriates me daily with their embrace of and enabling of Trump. All he has to do is show up, no more expectation than that. I firmly believe if the media covered him fairly as an independent arbiter of news, the race would not be as tight as it is. As always, Dems have to outperform just to be passable. It’s a joke. And honestly if you’re “undecided” at this point then you’re either a complete moron or you’re dishonest.
ABC: Do NOT refer to Trump as President tonight. He is MR. Trump.