One is a former prosecutor, known for her firmness, the other a famous orator, fond of invective: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, who will face off on Tuesday during a highly anticipated debate, are two speakers with diametrically opposed styles.
The former Republican president and the American vice president will meet for the very first time at the start of their confrontation scheduled for 9:00 p.m. local time, on the ABC channel.
Donald Trump will have experience on his side. The tempestuous septuagenarian, a former reality TV presenter, is taking part in his seventh televised debate and has left his mark on Americans with some of his past performances.
Starting with his famous dig at Hillary Clinton in 2016, in which he said the Democrat deserved to be “in prison.”
His most memorable debate, however, was his last, against Joe Biden in June: he precipitated the Democratic president’s withdrawal.
How will Donald Trump behave when faced with a completely new opponent, whom he wrongly describes as a “Marxist” and a “communist”?
The former real estate tycoon has revealed very little about his strategy.
“I’ll let her talk,” he said simply during a meeting with voters in early September. Before adding: “You can have all the strategies you want, but you always have to adapt to what’s in front of you.”
The former president, who prides himself on not needing any special preparation, acknowledged: “I have meetings about it, we talk about it, but there is not much to do.”
– Harris vs. Biden in 2019 –
Opposite her on stage Tuesday is Kamala Harris, who, in some ways, is where she is today because of a debate.
It’s June 27, 2019, and Democratic primary candidates including Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are facing off.
One exchange attracts attention.
The California senator criticizes Barack Obama’s former vice president for his past opposition to a racial desegregation policy that involved busing some children to distant schools, from which she benefited.
“The little girl (on the bus) was me,” she said. Joe Biden, silenced, gave her an almost admiring look.
This notable outing did not save a failed campaign, interrupted even before the first primary vote.
But it had at least momentarily shone the spotlight on Kamala Harris, whom Joe Biden had then invited on his “ticket”.
On July 21, when he left the race for the White House, it was to the vice president, the first woman and first black and Asian person to hold the position, that he handed over the baton.
Kamala Harris stood out during another debate, between the running mates of Joe Biden and Donald Trump, on October 7, 2020.
She had put her opponent, Vice President Mike Pence, in his place with calm authority. “Mr. Vice President, I am speaking,” she said, twice.
– “Evil” –
Donald Trump recently judged that she had behaved on this occasion in a “horrible” manner with his former right-hand man – with whom he is nevertheless in open conflict, and whom his supporters had called to “hang” during the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Kamala Harris is “mean,” the Republican candidate said again, referring not to a debate, but to a congressional hearing in 2018.
Then a senator, she had jostled Brett Kavanaugh, nominated by Donald Trump to the Supreme Court.
Their exchanges were widely publicized, and were featured in a video montage broadcast at the recent Democratic nomination convention, to laughter and applause.
The vice-president’s supporters prefer to forget other less brilliant performances by their favourite, who also has a tendency to sometimes launch into completely abstruse phrases.
In 2019, Kamala Harris remained muted in the face of attacks from another Democratic candidate, Tulsi Gabbard, on her record as a judge.
According to the press, this same Tulsi Gabbard, who has gone over to the other camp, is now advising Donald Trump for their much-anticipated confrontation on Tuesday.
aue-cjc/cyb
Related News :