WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has repeatedly taunted her opponent’s seeming reluctance to debate, telling a series of raucous audiences about Donald Trump’s criticisms of her: “As the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.”
After first backing out of an agreement, Trump reversed himself and said he’d meet Harris on Sept. 10 for an event hosted by ABC. That sets up a long-anticipated faceoff between the Democratic and Republican nominees — and, indeed, the chance for both of them to deliver their attack lines directly at one another.
Sharing a stage with Trump presents a critical chance for Harris to define herself and her opponent in a truncated campaign, with many open questions about her policy positions. But it also sets up a major test — one that President Joe Biden failed badly enough that he ended his campaign and made way for her.
A former San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, Harris has long presented her debating prowess as a strength, and her sharp questioning of opponents has produced many a career highlight. But she has also had testy exchanges that didn’t play as well.
“She’s certainly had a good rollout in the past few weeks and that will naturally translate to expectations on the debate stage,” said Aaron Kall, director of the University of Michigan’s debate program. “Part of the problem is, President Biden did so poorly in the first one, there’s no way she could do worse, and so that comparison is not going to help. But her debate history is a mixed bag.”
Trump faces high expectations too. And Biden’s disastrous performance helped obscure that the former president delivered many falsehoods — from lies about the Jan. 6 riot to misleading claims about abortion and immigration — that went unchecked during the debate.