Kamala Harris Outmaneuvers Trump in Debate Showdown

In Tuesday's debate, the vice president made herself the studio audience for a cringe comedy starring her opponent. Kamala Harris had a programming challenge, working against an experienced reality-TV professional, a savant of live broadcasts, she had to pull off a successful reboot of Democrats' least-favorite TV show of the 2024 season: the June debate that saw the self-immolation of President Biden.

A Masterclass in Debate Strategy

Navigating the Constraints

The same rules in place on CNN in June still held. There was no studio audience, and each candidate's microphone would be turned off when the other was speaking. These guardrails were meant to avoid the dumpster fire of cross-talk and shouting that marked the first 2020 debate. But that would frustrate Ms. Harris's campaign goal, which was to encourage Mr. Trump to be his own worst enemy. So she, and whoever prepared her for Tuesday's showdown, did what prime-time producers have done since TV's early days: They worked within the constraints of the medium to produce the show they wanted.

Seizing the Initiative

If Mr. Trump could not bluster and shout over her, she would need to get him to melt down on his own time. If he could not stalk her onstage, as he did with Hillary Clinton in 2016, she would have to use the staging and the split-screen to create a dominance contest on her own terms. The handshake was a small exercise of control, designed to be seen by a prime-time audience: She was the active party, initiating the encounter, and he the reactive one, accepting. She introduced herself — "Kamala Harris" — as if to anticipate his habit of mispronouncing her first name. Visually, she made herself the focus of attention, the protagonist of the drama.

Baiting the Opponent

Then she set about making Mr. Trump into the antagonist she wanted, needling and baiting him, pulling his levers and pushing his buttons. Harris knew that Trump's tendency to lash out and lose his cool would be her best weapon. By provoking him and keeping him on the defensive, she could control the narrative and the flow of the debate. Her strategy was to turn the tables on Trump, making him the one who appeared unhinged and unprofessional.

Commanding the Stage

Harris's performance was a masterclass in debate strategy. She outmaneuvered Trump at every turn, using the constraints of the format to her advantage. By seizing the initiative, baiting her opponent, and commanding the stage, she was able to present herself as the calm, composed, and competent leader in contrast to Trump's erratic and unpredictable behavior. The result was a decisive victory for Harris, who emerged as the clear winner of the debate.