What a difference two months makes. From the moment Kamala Harris and Donald Trump stepped on the debate stage last night, you knew it was going to be different from any presidential debate in recent memory. The two candidates had never formally met. Harris took charge immediately, walking over to Trump to shake his hand, giving him no option. It turned out to be the first of many moments where Harris got under Trump’s skin. I don’t know about you, but I was at the front of my seat for the more than 90-minute debate. In the end, you would be hard-pressed to argue that it wasn’t Kamala Harris’s night. Tip of the Stetson to ABC News and moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis for fact-checking (some of) Trump’s lies in real time. But (and maybe not a small thing) Trump got five more minutes of air time than Harris. On the other hand, it gave Trump more time to flail about. I’ve labeled these so-called debates “joint appearances” in the past, but this one came closer to an actual debate than any before. And whatever you want to call it, it was a doozy. As the candidates tried to convince the small group of still undecided swing state voters, Kamala Harris made her case. Trump, on the other hand, hardly answered any question put to him, no matter how succinctly. Most of his responses — you can’t call them answers — were rambling and incoherent, filled with lies and accusations. It was definitely the best debate a Democrat has had against Trump in the last eight (seems like 80) years. It is difficult to believe Trump’s performance last night persuaded any fence-sitters. Harris was in command and kept her cool. She knew her stuff and was well prepared. Most importantly, she was presidential. Trump appeared angry, and never once, to my knowledge, even looked at his opponent. He winced often, took the bait repeatedly and fell back on his tried and true behavior: bullying, even the moderators. It was a busy night for fact checkers. The latest tally shows 33 lies by Trump to one by Harris. According to CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale, “No major presidential candidate before Donald Trump has ever lied with this kind of frequency.” There was stiff competition for biggest whopper of the night. This one certainly is a contender: “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.” I won’t even dignify that with an explanation. How bad was it for Trump? It was so bad he made a personal appearance in the “spin room” after the debate, a very unusual move for a presidential candidate and certainly not a move made by a winner. He felt the need to spin his own poor performance and blame the media. But, please, don’t just take my word for it. If you did not see the debate, I encourage you to watch it here. It’s well worth your time. I don’t personally care about ratings for events like these, though I do hope many millions of Americans watched. The better informed the electorate is, the better for all of us. A footnote: A famous person with a lot of influence approved of Harris’s debate performance. Taylor Swift posted to her 283 million Instagram followers minutes after the debate that she would be voting for Harris and Walz in November. She signed the post “Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady.” Not that it is any surprise or figures to make a big difference. In a race this tight, last night’s debate was billed as the difference-maker. Polls over the next few days should tell us if that moniker was accurate.
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