Political Experts Weigh In on Tonight's Trump-Harris Debate and Its Potential Impact on the 2024 Election
Here’s what the experts suggest Trump and Harris should focus on this evening.
TroibNews 
Donald Trump needs to articulate his thoughts clearly and maintain a consistent message, while Kamala Harris has a range of tasks ahead of her.
Harris must not only counter Trump's points—steering clear of descending into personal attacks if he opts for that route during tonight's debate—but also provide a compelling and cohesive vision of her candidacy to voters who are still familiarizing themselves with the Democrats’ new leading figure, especially with less than two months to go until Election Day.
Both candidates enter what could be their final major chance to alter the dynamics of this close race, stepping outside their usual comfort zones. Trump has faced challenges in adjusting his approach against his new opponent. Meanwhile, Harris has seldom engaged in unscripted moments since taking on her party's mantle from President Joe Biden.
PMG consulted some of the most insightful strategists and political figures to gauge the expectations for Harris’ and Trump’s ABC-moderated debate in Philadelphia—and to define what would constitute success for each candidate.
Here are their thoughts, summarized for brevity and clarity:
**Tricia McLaughlin**, Republican consultant with experience on Vivek Ramaswamy’s presidential campaign, commented: "I’m watching to see if Trump can stay on message and if he can just talk about policy — namely the economy — and avoid any personal attacks. Let’s not get into any of the gender and race stuff. Harris does best when she’s talking about personal anecdotes, but she kinda flounders when it comes to policy. I think she’s banking on Trump tripping himself up and she’s going to want to avoid a lot of the Biden-Harris record, mainly the economy and immigration — that’s the tug of war I’m going to be looking for. That being said, I think the issue of abortion is going to be tougher when it’s against Kamala Harris. Even just the image of a man versus a woman talking about this issue — it’s obviously an area of vulnerability for Republicans; I have concerns."
**Celinda Lake**, president of Lake Research Partners and Democratic pollster affiliated with the Biden campaign, stated: "The No. 1 thing I’ll be looking for is how much Trump can control himself. Now, he did a very effective job of that in the Biden debate, and he was aided by the mics being off in between questions. But he just doesn’t seem to be able to control himself when it comes to Harris. Question No. 2: I think it will be interesting whether or not there is a massive gender gap, and I’m reminded of the [Geraldine] Ferraro-[George H.W.] Bush debate where women thought Ferraro had overwhelmingly won and men thought Bush had overwhelmingly won. The perceptions of Trump and Harris have such a gender gap already."
**Kristin Davison**, Republican consultant at Axiom Strategies, noted: "Harris prides herself on being an experienced, sharp prosecutor. It’s part of her stump speech. So despite a low bar, she will need to live up to the picture she has painted — a fierce, albeit joyful, prosecutor. Americans are expecting a performance worthy of a Supreme Court argument — or at the very least, one that they would see on an episode of 'The Practice' or 'Law and Order.' On the other hand, President Donald Trump can benefit from media-induced low expectations. Since Harris became the nominee, her campaign has enjoyed a honeymoon period with the media, their base, and donors. We’ve seen the gratuitous 'Trump campaign in disarray' and 'undisciplined Donald Trump' headlines."
**Anthony Coley**, a former senior official in the Biden Justice Department, expressed: "Trump knows the debate stage well. He’s comfortable there. And Vice President Harris goes into this debate the same way as she started the campaign, and that’s as an underdog. I think her primary goal is to introduce herself to people who are just beginning to pay attention to the race. Who is she? What are her values? I also think she needs to be her authentic self while showing strength, being agile, while going on offense when the opportunity arises."
**Charlie Gerow**, a Pennsylvania-based Republican strategist, said: "I’m going to be watching to see whether Kamala Harris can answer the myriad questions about her flopping on various positions, because it’s going to be incumbent on President Trump to call her out on the fact there are so many. There’s a pretty high bar for President Trump, which is interesting, because the Democrats have tried to lower the bar for Kamala Harris and raise the bar for Trump simultaneously."
**Maria Cardona**, a Democratic strategist, shared her thoughts: "What the vice president has to watch out for is not getting baited into a back-and-forth on his ridiculous, slimy, xenophobic racist, misogynistic insults. She needs to use that tactic here as well, and it will be tougher because it will be so much more tempting to look at him straight in the eye and answer his insults head-on."
**Ryan Williams**, Republican strategist and former aide to Mitt Romney, pointed out: "[Harris has] really not faced much pressure so far in this campaign. She’s never been in a room before with Trump — if she can deliver a strong performance and stand up to him she’ll get another bump. A win for Trump is to appear as presidential as Trump can be and clearly define her."
**Faiz Shakir**, adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders, remarked: "The contrast with Trump on the economy is critical for late deciders. A win would mean that, after the debate, higher percentages of people are more likely to trust Harris over Trump on the economy and are more optimistic about the future of the country under her leadership."
**Mike Dennehy**, a New Hampshire GOP strategist, emphasized: "Everyone is looking for Trump to contain himself...we’ve all seen her debate with [then-Vice President Mike] Pence and she did a pretty good job trying to keep him off balance."
**Antjuan Seawright**, a South Carolina-based Democratic strategist, concluded: "She must answer the questions that are asked of her, but also respond to him when appropriate...A win is no unforced errors. She has to really adopt a serious case of political nearsightedness and focus on the moment."
**Amy Tarkanian**, a Republican strategist, suggested: "Trump needs to have good manners. He’s going to have to really mind his P's and Q's, especially since he’s going up against a female."
**Leah Daughtry**, a Democratic operative, added: "I’ll be watching to detect the audience to which each candidate has chosen to appeal. That will tell me their thoughts about the state of the race. I expect cool-as-a-cucumber Harris to be fully present, using her experience and preparation."
Aarav Patel contributed to this report for TROIB News
Harris must not only counter Trump's points—steering clear of descending into personal attacks if he opts for that route during tonight's debate—but also provide a compelling and cohesive vision of her candidacy to voters who are still familiarizing themselves with the Democrats’ new leading figure, especially with less than two months to go until Election Day.
Both candidates enter what could be their final major chance to alter the dynamics of this close race, stepping outside their usual comfort zones. Trump has faced challenges in adjusting his approach against his new opponent. Meanwhile, Harris has seldom engaged in unscripted moments since taking on her party's mantle from President Joe Biden.
PMG consulted some of the most insightful strategists and political figures to gauge the expectations for Harris’ and Trump’s ABC-moderated debate in Philadelphia—and to define what would constitute success for each candidate.
Here are their thoughts, summarized for brevity and clarity:
**Tricia McLaughlin**, Republican consultant with experience on Vivek Ramaswamy’s presidential campaign, commented: "I’m watching to see if Trump can stay on message and if he can just talk about policy — namely the economy — and avoid any personal attacks. Let’s not get into any of the gender and race stuff. Harris does best when she’s talking about personal anecdotes, but she kinda flounders when it comes to policy. I think she’s banking on Trump tripping himself up and she’s going to want to avoid a lot of the Biden-Harris record, mainly the economy and immigration — that’s the tug of war I’m going to be looking for. That being said, I think the issue of abortion is going to be tougher when it’s against Kamala Harris. Even just the image of a man versus a woman talking about this issue — it’s obviously an area of vulnerability for Republicans; I have concerns."
**Celinda Lake**, president of Lake Research Partners and Democratic pollster affiliated with the Biden campaign, stated: "The No. 1 thing I’ll be looking for is how much Trump can control himself. Now, he did a very effective job of that in the Biden debate, and he was aided by the mics being off in between questions. But he just doesn’t seem to be able to control himself when it comes to Harris. Question No. 2: I think it will be interesting whether or not there is a massive gender gap, and I’m reminded of the [Geraldine] Ferraro-[George H.W.] Bush debate where women thought Ferraro had overwhelmingly won and men thought Bush had overwhelmingly won. The perceptions of Trump and Harris have such a gender gap already."
**Kristin Davison**, Republican consultant at Axiom Strategies, noted: "Harris prides herself on being an experienced, sharp prosecutor. It’s part of her stump speech. So despite a low bar, she will need to live up to the picture she has painted — a fierce, albeit joyful, prosecutor. Americans are expecting a performance worthy of a Supreme Court argument — or at the very least, one that they would see on an episode of 'The Practice' or 'Law and Order.' On the other hand, President Donald Trump can benefit from media-induced low expectations. Since Harris became the nominee, her campaign has enjoyed a honeymoon period with the media, their base, and donors. We’ve seen the gratuitous 'Trump campaign in disarray' and 'undisciplined Donald Trump' headlines."
**Anthony Coley**, a former senior official in the Biden Justice Department, expressed: "Trump knows the debate stage well. He’s comfortable there. And Vice President Harris goes into this debate the same way as she started the campaign, and that’s as an underdog. I think her primary goal is to introduce herself to people who are just beginning to pay attention to the race. Who is she? What are her values? I also think she needs to be her authentic self while showing strength, being agile, while going on offense when the opportunity arises."
**Charlie Gerow**, a Pennsylvania-based Republican strategist, said: "I’m going to be watching to see whether Kamala Harris can answer the myriad questions about her flopping on various positions, because it’s going to be incumbent on President Trump to call her out on the fact there are so many. There’s a pretty high bar for President Trump, which is interesting, because the Democrats have tried to lower the bar for Kamala Harris and raise the bar for Trump simultaneously."
**Maria Cardona**, a Democratic strategist, shared her thoughts: "What the vice president has to watch out for is not getting baited into a back-and-forth on his ridiculous, slimy, xenophobic racist, misogynistic insults. She needs to use that tactic here as well, and it will be tougher because it will be so much more tempting to look at him straight in the eye and answer his insults head-on."
**Ryan Williams**, Republican strategist and former aide to Mitt Romney, pointed out: "[Harris has] really not faced much pressure so far in this campaign. She’s never been in a room before with Trump — if she can deliver a strong performance and stand up to him she’ll get another bump. A win for Trump is to appear as presidential as Trump can be and clearly define her."
**Faiz Shakir**, adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders, remarked: "The contrast with Trump on the economy is critical for late deciders. A win would mean that, after the debate, higher percentages of people are more likely to trust Harris over Trump on the economy and are more optimistic about the future of the country under her leadership."
**Mike Dennehy**, a New Hampshire GOP strategist, emphasized: "Everyone is looking for Trump to contain himself...we’ve all seen her debate with [then-Vice President Mike] Pence and she did a pretty good job trying to keep him off balance."
**Antjuan Seawright**, a South Carolina-based Democratic strategist, concluded: "She must answer the questions that are asked of her, but also respond to him when appropriate...A win is no unforced errors. She has to really adopt a serious case of political nearsightedness and focus on the moment."
**Amy Tarkanian**, a Republican strategist, suggested: "Trump needs to have good manners. He’s going to have to really mind his P's and Q's, especially since he’s going up against a female."
**Leah Daughtry**, a Democratic operative, added: "I’ll be watching to detect the audience to which each candidate has chosen to appeal. That will tell me their thoughts about the state of the race. I expect cool-as-a-cucumber Harris to be fully present, using her experience and preparation."
Aarav Patel contributed to this report for TROIB News
