UA televised debate does not, in itself, allow you to win a presidential election. But it acts as an intense ferment. The confrontation between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, on September 10 on ABC, was all the more anticipated as the Democratic candidate is responding to the challenge of a very short campaign, after Joe Biden’s withdrawal. She has little time to (re)present herself to the general public, assert herself, appear credible. From this point of view, the debate was a complete success, full of tasty barbs, marked by the devastating facial expressions of the vice-president, between amused contempt and controlled irritation.
Read also the decryption | Article reserved for our subscribers An offensive Kamala Harris asserts herself in the debate against Donald Trump
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But Kamala Harris’ professional preparation and her unexpected ease in the exercise should not obscure the other surprise of this televised event: Donald Trump’s failure. His poor formal performance, but above all his strategic one. The former president lacked discipline, falling into the traps set by his opponent. He was unable to take advantage of his main asset, illustrated by the polls: economic issues.
Even though inflation fell back to 2.5% over a year at the end of August, Donald Trump could have focused on the real estate crisis, the cost of basic necessities, highlighting the spectacular increase in prices in four years. An increase that would be dishonest to attribute exclusively to the Biden administration, but which constitutes an argument within reach for the Republican candidate, in order to feed a nostalgia, that of an easier daily life. His greater familiarity with the golf cart – his favorite sport – than with that of the housewife deprives him of sensitivity on this subject.
His worst faults
If he had chosen this angle of attack, Donald Trump could have dismissed Kamala Harris on the record of the outgoing administration. Instead, he let her appear as a candidate for change, compared to him, his methods and his incendiary speeches. The billionaire repeated the nonsense about Haitian migrants in Ohio who would eat pets. He digressed on the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, defending the indefensible. In short, he reminded the 67 million spectators who he was, at his worst.
Read also | Haitians Accused of ‘Eating’ Pets in Ohio: The Origins of the Racist Rumor Spread by Donald Trump
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But the most astonishing absence in the Republican candidate’s remarks was any openness to the center, which he left to Democratic strategists. At no point did the former president think to address undecided voters, doubtful about Kamala Harris, or moderate conservatives, tense, even hostile, to the idea of supporting him.
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