Harris, Trump gear up for their first high-stakes US presidential debate

[Music] well US presidential candidates Donald Trump and KLA Harris will both be looking for an advantage when they meet for their first televised debate on Tuesday yeah the high stakes contest for both candidates is expected to be watched by millions and could give one of the contenders an edge in the race for the White House it comes only a couple of months after Trump's debate with Joe Biden which led to the president dropping his re-election bid Nick Hara looks ahead to what we can expect from the Harris Trump matchup folks how are you history shows that presidential debates don't normally affect an election except for when they do the the the total initiative in June Joe Biden's debate performance was not just race defining it was race ending excuse me with um leading to his withdrawal just a few weeks later I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence I don't think he knows what he said either traditionally political science research suggests that at least General election debates aren't all that consequential and now we have one that's hugely consequential now Donald Trump gets a second presidential debate with a different seemingly stronger Challenger kamla Harris is Riding High on a wave of momentum fueled by a Democratic party that's been energized by the change of candidate a national poll show Trump trailing Harris by as much as 5% whereas he was leading Biden by a similar amount before their debate Trump I think is pretty clearly feeling a little more desperate than he was back in June and July um he's been throwing out a lot of different policy proposals there's almost kind of whiplash about you know B Trump is always changing his positions about various things but you know saying hey the government should fund IVF and you know kind of going all over the place on abortion flip-flopping is a problem for both candidates Trump has softened his immigration position by suggesting foreign graduates should receive green cards and he's embracing Tik Tok and cryptocurrency both of which he had vly opposed while Harris has changed her stance on issues such as no longer supporting a ban on fracking and becoming more Hardline on border security campaigns have agreed that the candidate's microphones will remain muted while the other is speaking so no interruptions but that's unlikely to stop them both trying the same tactic you have two very similar candidates in how they approach debate both of them like to get under the skin of the other one Harris of course is a prosecutor and of course Donald Trump loves to get under other people's skin he just really likes to call them out on a number of different things so I anticipate that this will be a very uh tense debate each candidate will be pushed for precise policy Trump has made vague promises like Mass deportations despite research suggesting it'll crater the US economy reducing GDP by around 2 6% while he's distanced himself from the highly detailed almost 1,000 page conservative platform known as project 2025 for her part Harris has laid out little in the way of foreign policy plans everybody knows what Donald Trump is and what he brings they've had four years of living under him what is it that Harris wants to do she's talked very vaguely about uh a few ideas she has she needs to put more flesh on the bones proud to be an American also this time Trump is at a disadvantage when it comes to one major issue age with Biden not running Trump will now be the oldest candidate on the debate stage his 78 years are likely to draw a contrast to Harris's 59 years after uncertainty over whether this debate would actually happen now the candidates are preparing for what could be the most consequential showdown of their career substance or style policy or personality voters who've made up their minds and those who haven't will be tuning in to judge the two candidates it's only one night just 90 minutes but in this election when anything seems possible it could have a major impact on November's outcome Nick Harper CNA Washington joining us this morning is Brian d'angeles partner at pan group is also head of its Washington office Brian great to have you on the show this morning we didn't think Biden versus Trump was going to be consequential and here we are so how is this one going to shape the final weeks of the race to the White House well first thank you for having me and looking forward to tomorrow night's debate I would say the stakes could not be higher this is probably the one and only time the two candidates will meet on stage and as your uh segment leading into this indicated there's a lot for both candidates still to do in an otherwise neck and neck race for the white house so I think a lot of pressure on Cala Harris to provide more details really show Americans who she's going to be as the next president and there's a lot of pressure on Trump to try to stay disciplined try to stay focused and not tip into some of the chaos that tends to turn voters off yeah Brian so you know who would it be more consequential for I mean people have had four years of trump but I don't really know KLA Harris and how could the issues that take Center Stage I'm going to guess economy probably abortion Gaza Ukraine I tip the election in favor of either candidate yeah I would say that the stakes are a little higher for Harris she again she's a little bit more unknown she's also had a tremendous six weeks since she's become the nominee and real really a lot of pressure to keep that momentum going to avoid any stumbles heading into the last leg of this campaign but there are a number of issues that will work to her Advantage certainly abortion some of the other uh economic issues but there's also a feeling in the United States that the economy isn't going as well as it could be going that some of the data doesn't really hit the same back at the kitchen table so she'll have a lot of questions to answer about what she'll do different with Biden from Biden excuse me uh when it comes to her running the economy Brian I'm wondering whether or not you think Harris will directly address the issue of Trump's age and his mental acuity I mean is that going to be something that you think will come up directly or is she going to hope that he says something in one of his responses and she'll pounce on that no I think she's going to come out you know looking to be that Pro utor that she is and really take the fight to Trump I think whether it's age I think she'll certainly talk about some of the criminal issues he's had some of the more controversial issues that have come up from his presidency she's really trying to create a contrast between what we saw for Trump for for four years and even the four years he's been out of office with her vision uh for the future so Stark contrast between kind of the the chaos and the partisanship of the last several years with a vision for the future I think she'll come right out of the gate looking to make that case against him and Brian Quick comments on the New York Times Sienna poll showing that 28% of likely voters want to know more about uh comma Harris versus 9% for Trump is this an opportunity for her first of all and and how can she capitalize on all this it's it's an opportunity it's it's a bit of a risk like I said she's been she's been riding ey and she became the nominee and hasn't really had to put a lot of meat on the bone yet not a lot of media interviews not a lot of times outside of the convention where she's been in the National Spotlight so this is a big opportunity for her to reassure voters that she has her own plans her own vision for the country they know what Trump is going to bring Trump's very well defined everyone understands what they're getting with him whether they support him or not Harris is still a little bit of a question mark for that group of Voters and so to be able to go out there tomorrow night make that case show the side of her that's ready to take on this job is critically important Brian I want to talk about the debate style of the two candidates uh the strengths and the weaknesses of them um you know what uh both candidates need to focus on to win this debate so Harris has been criticized as being reluctant to stray from the script but Trump has been strain Too Much from the script and that could be his downfall yeah that that's right I think the best thing Donald Trump could do is is come out and run a very disciplined 90minut messaging exercise he's proven time and time again that he can't do that he can't help himself but share what's what he's actually thinking in his head to be after his opponents to be demeaning towards his opponents and that can really turn off a lot of Voters especially a lot of the independent swing voters that both candidates are trying to capture in this necan neck race Harris you know has had good moments in debates and she's had some moments that I think she wish she could take back tomorrow it'll be important for her to again really come out and make her case take the fight to Trump and show that she can stand up to that but be able to flex a little bit and get off of the talking points relate to Americans what they're going through and show that side of her as well Ryan very quickly Reports say um Comm Harris spoke to Joe Biden as well as Hillary Clinton both of whom have deaded Trump what advice do you think they absolutely had to give up you know it's it's probably to to to not get knocked off your game I think where where Trump wins is when candidates really start to play defense where they they feel under attack and they start to lower themselves down to that kind of schoolyard tussle that he likes to get into I think she needs to play offense I think she needs to come out and press her case be that prosecutor that that she was in the beginning of her career and not let him dictate the terms of this debate all right appreciate your insights Brian d'angeles their partner at Penta group and also head of its Washington office