United States Vice President Kamala Harris and former US president Donald Trump will face off in their first televised debate on Tuesday, a potentially game-changing moment in the 2024 US presidential election.
The stakes are high for both candidates, with tens of millions of American voters tuning in to see them finally face off.
“This debate may go down in the history books. Break out the popcorn,” said Andrew Koneschusky, a former press secretary for US Senate leader Chuck Schumer.
Harris, who arrived in Philadelphia on the eve of the debate after intense practice sessions, will try to win over voters who still know little about her. Trump, who has taken a more relaxed approach ahead of the debate, will try to box in Harris on issues like the economy and immigration.
Harris said in a radio interview broadcast Monday, “There’s no floor for him in terms of how low he will go. He is probably going to speak a lot of untruths.”
Trump’s spokesman Jason Miller said, “You can’t prepare for President Trump. Imagine like a boxer trying to prepare for Floyd Mayweather, or Muhammad Ali.”
The debate may lack the full-scale shouting matches of previous years, as the two candidates’ microphones will be muted when they are not speaking, at the Trump team’s request. But it will still be a potential turning point — as well as a contrast in styles.
Harris has the most to prove at the debate, with her campaign suffering a setback at the weekend when a major New York Times/Siena poll showed Trump ahead by 48 to 47 percent. She will be under pressure to spell out her policy manifesto to voters, who according to the NYT poll said they need to know more about her.
