By Brooke Mallory, OAN Staff
Monday, September 9, 2024 6:10 p.m.
In preparation for Tuesday's presidential debate, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have pivoted sharply, laying out contrasting policies that illustrate not only their differing views of the country but also their differing approaches to key events in their political careers.
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To focus on “perfecting” her two-minute answers in line with debate guidelines, VP Harris has been sequestered in a luxury hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, a location that will allow her to interact with voters in battleground states, and has been working with several political advisers since last Thursday.
Meanwhile, Republican candidate Donald Trump has openly questioned the need for lengthy preparations. He has said he is already well prepared and seems less concerned about preparations than Harris. Former President Trump had campaign-related activities scheduled throughout the day on Monday.
“You can go into the debate with any strategy, but you're going to have to kind of feel your way through the debate as it goes along,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity during a town hall meeting, adding, quoting boxing legend Mike Tyson, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
Meanwhile, Harris stressed in her own words that Trump was prepared to hurl insults and “distort” the facts.
“He's running on really old, worn-out tactics and there's no bottom for him in terms of how sneaky he's willing to be. We should be prepared for that. We should be prepared for the fact that he doesn't feel burdened to tell the truth and that he'll probably tell a lot of lies. At the end of the day, I want to point out, as many of you know as we travel around the country on this campaign, he tends to fight for himself, not for the American people. And I think that's going to come out in the debates. But I do expect he's going to lie and there are tactics he's used in the past, including attacking President Obama and Hillary Clinton. So we should expect some of that to come out,” Harris said in an interview on The Rickey Smiley Show.
As part of her debate preparations, Harris is working with longtime Hillary Clinton aide and Democratic political consultant Philip Reines to re-enact the former president and impersonate Trump in a debate against Harris.
Harris claims to have a deep psychological understanding of Trump, and in speeches, such as her remarks at the Democratic National Convention, she has gone to great lengths to present herself as a “better leader” than Trump, making him appear weaker than he actually is.
President Joe Biden's dismal performance in the June 27 electionNumber The Trump debate was so transformative and controversial that Democrats were forced to face the fact that their public (and online) claims that Biden was mentally strong enough to run for the presidency looked like a mockery and that Republicans were vindicated. Biden ultimately withdrew from the Democratic nomination and endorsed Harris.
“I told him [Biden] “I'm not going to let her speak. I'm going to make her speak,” Trump said at the Hannity rally, referring to Democrats' insistence that they won't let Kamala Harris say a word when it's her turn to speak.
Trump's advisers say there will be no difference between this debate and his last one with Biden, and that the former president will not prepare in the traditional way — there will be no sets, no acting or stand-ins, and Trump “doesn't need any of that.”
Trump already meets regularly with policy advisers who are experts on potential topics, in private meetings to discuss issues, first-term decisions and second-term ambitions.
“I'm having meetings about this, I'm talking about this, but there's not much you can do. Either you know your problems or you don't. Either you have good policies or you don't,” Trump said in a radio interview.
Trump said he met with former Democratic congresswoman and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard in connection with the debate. Gabbard debated Harris in the 2020 Democratic primary and was specifically called to support Trump because she knows her well. Additionally, Gabbard recently hosted a town hall meeting with Trump in Wisconsin.
“We look forward to the opportunity for the American people to see her on stage, unable to defend her policy and attitude shifts,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said. “The president knows the issues, and she has proven she doesn't.”
Harris' campaign is hoping to capitalize on the excitement her short campaign has generated by portraying Trump as an “extremist” and using the debate as a springboard. The campaign plans to hold 2,000 volunteer-run events in the weekend before the debate, reaching more than a million voters.
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