How Harris got under Trump’s skin at the debate | The Current

hello I'm Matt Galloway and this is the current podcast round two of the US Presidential debates was by all accounts a grudge match but while the teams were the same one of those players was different as a prosecutor I never asked a victim or a witness are you a Republican or a Democrat the only thing I ever asked them are you okay and that's the kind of President we need right now kamla Harris took Center Stage for the Democrats in her first presidential debate since President Joe Biden stepped aside but the relationship between the two was one that Republican candidate Donald Trump made sure to emphasize they have and she has destroyed our country with policy that's insane almost policy that you'd say they have to hate our country for who won and lost and what last night means for the weeks leading up to the November 5th election I'm joined by Matthew Bartlet Republican strategist and former Trump state department appointee and by Simon Rosenberg former adviser to the 1992 Bill Clinton campaign and a longtime Democratic strategist both are in Washington DC this morning good morning to you both good morning Simon this was kamla Harris's first presidential debate what did she have to do last night and did she succeed I think she did succeed I think this was a great night for her she was strong and confident prepared presidential and Trump was unfit and unwell and untethered as we all expected um and so I think the contrast between somebody who's literally ready to be president and somebody who is um not I think was very Stark for the American people last night and we saw it even in the immediate polls that came out after CNN said 63% said she won the debate so Democrats feel good today uh it's a close election we've got a lot of work to do right off the Hop I mean she walked across the stage to give him a handshake and introduced herself saying I'm KLA Harris what was what do you think she was trying to do with that I think she was trying to do what she talks about in her campaign every day which is to restore a degree of Civility to turn the page on this awful era of trump and to restore America to a time of decency and civility you notice that I appreciate you raising that because Trump struggled I mean she walked over to him put out her hands said hi I'm Comm Harris and he kind of walked away and was you know uncomfortable with the whole exchange it was really an an an important moment early on in the debate um where you saw somebody who wants to engage with her oent she's not angry and upset and she want because she wants to be a president for all Americans I think she said that repeatedly last night Matthew same question to you what did Donald Trump have to do last night and did he do it uh there were many Republicans that wished uh Donald Trump was reaganesque on the debate stage and I think unfortunately he came across as rather Reckless um this was for all uh intense of purposes a classic Donald Trump performance um as alluded to earlier um he was was uh undisciplined unfocused and at times unhinged um he has been a central part of American politics he has been the leader of the Republican party for over a decade now he certainly is who he is if there were expectations of changing um either post assassination or certainly now in this new race vers KLA Harris he certainly did not change um his style or any of his tactics it was not the best night for the former president um who who just did not contrast well are you surprised that he took the bait on things I mean she she teased out this idea that people were leaving his rallies because they were bored with what he was saying and you could see what she was trying to do and he couldn't help himself but say that his rallies were enormous and that people weren't leaving are you surprised that that he took that bait uh no and again we all at home knew what was coming everyone um you know who reads the paper everyone who's tuned into this race knew the the Comm Harris campaign telegraphed this strategy yet the former president cannot help himself um you know his and yet and yet he's your candidate and yet he's the candidate at the top of the ticket for your party exact and and it continues to be a very close race here um because people are looking at what are the real world implications of policy um what the last four years vers uh president Trump's four years uh so yes this is a bitter ly divided nation um it comes down to parties ideology as well as style there are many people that think his style is refreshing that it is Straight Talk um that that they are sick of having politicians lie to them with their um uh double speak and there are many people that find him to be incredibly unprofessional incredibly uh unpresidential he's certainly a very defic continues to be a very divisive figure in American politics you mentioned the last four years and obviously there's been a change in the lineup from the last presidential that came up a lot last night have a listen to this Victor Orban said it we had no problems when Trump was president but when this weak pathetic man that you saw at a debate just a few months ago you talk about a threat to democracy and you know what I'll give you a little secret he hates her it's important to remind the former president you're not running against Joe Biden you're running against me she is Biden clearly I am not Joe Biden and I am certainly not Donald Trump Matthew how successful was Donald Trump in framing KLA Harris's a continuation of Joe Biden's presidency um I'm again I'm not sure uh that articulating that or pinning her down on that is the president's Forte yeah I think that is you know it is a reality uh for for most Americans they from day one have called this the Biden Harris Administration um so again you know k for all intens of purposes they hid Joe Biden for three and a half uh years he was not out of the race at the last debate KLA Harris was appointed uh a Presidential nominee uh has hidden from the Press hidden from voters this is a very big night for her she did incredibly well um yet president Trump you know is frustrated you can tell in this race politics is not fair life is not fair he continues to struggle with this but the reality of the situation is that most Americans understand the past four years economically domestically at the border internationally versus versus the the Trump's years Simon did kamla Harris manage to step out of the Biden Administration Shadow one of the things that people I think perhaps were looking for was a sense as to what she would actually do who she actually was and what she would actually do did we get a sense of that I think powerfully I mean she first of all she had a lot of time to speak last night and she laid out her what she wants to do as president repeatedly throughout the entire night on every subject you know and I think her core approach to the economic debate about how she wants people not just to get by but get ahead came across very powerfully and I and I think in terms of stepping out of the Shadow yes she did I mean this was her moment she needed she needed her big job last night was to introduce herself to the American people and to make people who are tired of trump and want to turn the page comfortable with her and I think she did that last night successfully and I think that the you know I think that whole exchange you just played about how I'm not Joe Biden I mean look there there's been a dis debate a discussion in in political circles here in in uh the us about you know who represents change my God I mean look at the stage last night if there was one change candidate somebody who was going to bring better change good change to the country it was her did did she sell that idea of the economy what her vision of the economy was one of the questions was you know are you better off now it's typical question are you better off now than you were four years ago and nobody really answered that question but the question I think that people are trying to figure out is is whether her vision of the economy is going to make people better off do you think that she managed to to pitch that yeah and I will just say and is that the country is better off today far far better off than When Donald Trump was in left office you know three and a half years ago and and I think that what she laid out last night I mean look there's a very simple thing the Democrats are trying to do now which is that we're fighting for you and he's fighting for himself right that we're trying to advance make your lives better he's trying to keep himself out of jail and and focus everything on himself and I think that that came across last night Donald Trump talked about himself and about his and not about the country and I think that she's in a very powerful place right now I mean her economic program you know just for example I mean we got a lot done over the last three and a half years the country is far better off the economy is the Envy of the world according to the Wall Street Journal and everyone who knows the data knows how strong the American economy has been but she's been campaigning on something that is one of the things that that didn't get done during the Biden Administration which is the housing crisis in the United States she's she's made this Central to her campaign and it's very this is a hugely important issue for middleclass people in the United States young people and she's put forward a very comprehensive very thoughtful plan about how to reduce to increase housing Supply I think this has been a very important part of what she's been doing she talked about it at length last night Matthew the Republicans have been campaigning on this idea of being the party of of the workers of the Union of manufact in putting you know what what did Donald Trump say people can't afford bacon um and that he was going to be able to figure out a way that people could afford bacon do you think that that he was able to sell an economic plan that would reassure Americans who who feel as though inflation and the state of the economy is not working for them yeah listen this is much more about a feeling than an ideal or certainly a policy proposal um the notion that affordability is the biggest defining issue here and I think actually dangerous when Democrats try to go out and say we we are the Envy of the world when Americans go to the grocery store or the electric bill comes or they have to get gas um or um put kids through college must say go to a movie uh housing is a massive crisis KLA Harris we have a massive supply side issue she talked about giving people 25 to $50,000 um more feeding a a a demand issue this is what is scary she has talked about price controls um taxing unrealized gains I think this is you know the Achilles heel um you know the the the notion that the problem was Joe the problem with the Joe Biden Harris Administration was that they just didn't spend enough money um if that's the case then KLA Harris will win I'm not sure Americans view the federal government as that and I'm not sure they view the economy and the everyday issues as the Envy of the world right now I want to come back to policy in a moment but there are some things that were said that I think will stick in people's minds um by Donald Trump have a listen to to Donald Trump from a few different points in this debate her vice presidential pick says abortion in the ninth month is absolutely fine he also says execution after birth it's execution no longer abortion because the baby is born is okay and that's not okay with me in Springfield they're eating the dogs the people that came in they're eating the cats they're eating they're eating the pets of the people that live there Matthew both of those comments about executing babies and immigrants eating pets aren't true Donald Trump said that he had heard it on television this idea that that people were eating pets in Springfield who is he hoping to appeal to with lines like that um unclear uh I will say you know uh both of those are from scant um one from governor Oram of Virginia a a scant comment around um abortion um and and and and hospitals and and babies and one you know um with someone who was testifying at their local um uh City commission around you know some of the challenges around immigration do you have do you have concerns about him being at the top of the ticket I mean Joe Biden was knocked out of the race because of the last debate and and a sense of incoherence that that came across do you have concerns seeing last night do you have concerns about Donald Trump being at the top of the ticket for the party that that you support 100% I do until I look at the past four years of democratic proposals which have caused inflation a raging open border humanitarian crisis where the quote unquote adults in the Roman foreign policy have now seen two Regional you know raging Wars potentially turn into Regional Wars so absolutely I am I am not in denial that Donald Trump um you know has some deep personality flaws Donald Trump um you know may not be the most articulate or best person but if we were looking at the policies would you rather be poor in America and Donald Trump's America or middle class or or KLA Harrison Joe Biden's again who is providing better opportunity yeah yeah please Simon go ahead yeah I mean look this is we got to stay in a place of Truth and and as opposed to the fiction and the fantasies that we heard last night repeatedly uh Donald Trump is living and the Republicans are living living in a poli place that's completely untethered the American economy has been booming we are the Envy of the world inflation was caused not by the Democrats but by covid and uh OPEC raising oil prices and the Russian war in Ukraine and inflation we handled inflation better than any other developed country in the world it's now down to zero we've hit our Targets on inflation while the economy continues to grow I mean I am I will defend the economic record of this President and this Administration to the day I die we had has been an exemplary performance from the disaster that they inherited from the last president and in terms of uh the Border today everyone should realize crime is down in America it went up under Trump we have the border the flows to the Border today are lower than they were under the Trump presidency we would have been here much fast if the Republicans and Donald Trump had not killed an important border bill that we tried to get passed earlier this year but Don you know Joe Biden and Comm Harris did this on their own we can have a debate about policy but at the end of the day what we saw last and I'm happy to have that debate but the question you raised at the very beginning is should we have deep concerns about whether or not Donald Trump is unfit is unwell and is not really connected to the the world that we all live in every day yes that's a serious concern he repeatedly talked about things this abort this execution after birth is this unbelievably um delusional crazy speak that that he engages in so untrue so outrageous so bananas right and he did it again and again and again he's unfit he's unwell he's untethered and he cannot be president of the United States let me ask you just further about the issue of abortion um on the issue of abortion KLA Harris had this to say you want to talk about this is what people wanted pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term suffering from a miscarriage being denied care in an emergency room because the healthc care providers are afraid they might go to jail and she's bleeding out in a car in the parking lot she didn't want that her husband didn't want that a 12 or 13-year-old Survivor of incest being forced to carry a pregnancy to term they don't want that and I pledge to you when Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protections of roie Wade as president of the United States I will proudly sign it into law Matthew is abortion an issue that could hurt Donald Trump's ch in November he refused to say whether he would veto uh a National Abortion ban um he was asked repeatedly about that is this an issue that that could sync him if Donald Trump loses this election I would argue that the overturning of roie Wade and abortion Reproductive Rights is probably the number one factor um in a potential defeat yes this is a very powerful personal um sometimes controversial issue it has now been returned to the states uh um it is a local issue now um where the people closest who are affected will be able to have a say in this yet it remains a incredibly powerful political issue um again we've talked about the issues from the border to foreign policy I'm shocked to hear uh the that inflation and and the economy and and the pressures the atmospheric pressures of affordability are continue to be envious um but I would concede that absolutely uh abortion is a is probably the number one is that the Democrats have right now we just have a couple of minutes left and I'll ask you both this Matthew do you think that what we saw last night will move the needle uh measurably this is a very very close race but what impact will it have do you think uh again it's unclear um this election will be decided with a handful of Voters and a handful of States um and again if you look at you know do things help or hurt I have to say I do not think last night Donald Trump helped himself let's remember um you know he lost every every debate Hillary Clinton uh there are atmospheric pressures at play with the economy even the incumbency yet again I do not think the former president served himself well last night and for all of that concern will you still vote for him uh unclear candidly speaking I'm not a fan of the president's personality so you would vote for perhaps vote for Harris but boy I look at KLA Harris talking about price controls taxing unrealized gains and when people tell you how you know you know inflation and and everything is just Rosy under this Administration I find it incredibly farfetched Simon last minute or so to you will this move the needle at all again are people baked in such that what they saw last night is not going to do anything it's just going to reinforce what they already believe no I think this was a very bad night for Donald Trump and a really good night for us I mean I think we were already in a position of strength in this election we have a marginal you know modest lead nationally we have a much stronger campaign a a better candidate better arguments the the burden was on Trump to fundamentally change the trajectory of the race last night and he didn't do that he reinforced the current trajectory which is that we're in a stronger position so we come out of this feeling really good today look we know we got a lot of work to do and we've been through this before but the Democratic party right now has the strongest Grassroots Army that it's ever had it's not even clear that Donald Trump has a real serious field operation on the ground in these key States and so we feel we feel good but we know we got a lot of work to do um but this was a very good night because I think one of the most important thing that happened was that KL Harris made it very clear that she's ready to be president of the United States clock is ticking just a couple of months less than a couple of months until election day perhaps we will speak again before November in the meantime thank you very much for this okay thank you so much we will Simon Rosenberg is a democratic strategist he runs the hopium Chronicles blog Matthew Bartlett is a Republican strategist with Darby field advisers both were in Washington DC