Donald Trump knocked Joe Biden out of the 2024 presidential race in the last debate, but the Republican found himself repeatedly knocked on his heels Tuesday night when squaring off against his new Democratic opponent: Kamala Harris. Then came Taylor Swift, who delivered her own version of a knock out. Inside the debate hall in Philadelphia, Trump was on the defensive over his legal problems, election denialism, opposition from former allies and incitement of an attack on the U.S. Capitol. Even his beloved rallies become debate fodder, with Harris mocking them as full of odd digressions and so boring his supporters often leave early.
Harris came in trying to rattle and bait Trump, and often succeeded, leading to defensive, angry and rambling responses as the vice president had the upper hand throughout much of the contest. Trump repeatedly turned to immigration, his signature issue, but struggled to sustain a consistent line of attack and often leaned on familiar and false claims that drew corrections from the moderators. Harris and Trump faced off in Philadelphia as polls show the race tied or within the margin of error in the critical swing states and both candidates under pressure to deliver a strong performance during their first ever meeting. Sign-up for Your Vote: Text with the USA TODAY elections team.
The expectations were high for both campaigns. Harris needed to prove herself on the biggest stage yet and better introduce herself to undecided voters, while Trump faced questions of whether he could deliver a disciplined takedown of Harris’ policy positions without veering into personal attacks. Their debate marked the biggest moment in the race for Harris since Biden dropped out nearly two months ago and she quickly secured the Democratic nomination. She energized the Democratic Party and pulled back within sight of Trump, but there have been signs that her “honeymoon” period is ending and voters are taking a closer look.
Nervous Democrats saw a much stronger advocate than Biden, who repeatedly gave incoherent debate answers when he squared off against Trump on June 27 in Atlanta. In addition to delivering a much more fluid and coherent message, Harris often looked more poised than Trump as she calmly prosecuted the case against him, prompting a series of angry outbursts. Harris’ debate performance earned an immediate thumbs up from Swift, the pop star whose support Democrats envision jolting young voters into helping them hold onto the White House.