When former President Trump takes to the debate stage with Vice President Harris on Tuesday, he will see a difference that is like night and day.
When Trump debated President Biden less than three months ago, he was facing a candidate who was trailing in the polls, seizing the opportunity to energize his campaign and dodging questions about his age and abilities. That has changed dramatically in the run-up to Tuesday's debate in Philadelphia.
Trump will now face off against Ms Harris, who will turn the race into a jump ball and pose a new challenge to the former president – a younger, more energetic candidate who is unlikely to struggle and could put him in jeopardy.
“Oh, it's very different,” said Matt Gorman, a Republican strategist and former senior adviser to Sen. Tim Scott's (R-I.) presidential campaign.
“[The Harris campaign] Their game plan is already clear. They are: First Democratic debate with Biden or Vice President [Mike] In 2020, Pence A slogan of some kindGorman continued: “Biden was just trying to survive, figuratively speaking.”
Ms. Harris became the Democratic nominee just over a month ago, but in that time, a staggering amount of fundraising and growing enthusiasm have transformed the race, narrowing it to closer contests in many battleground states — a shift that has hit Mr. Trump and the Republican Party in the feels, as they struggle to respond.
There were also some moments that left Republicans weary: Trump questioned the ethnicity of his vice president and her rise in Democratic politics. By sexual activity.
“She's a horrible person. She has a criminal record. Stay away from the race issue. Stay away from the stereotype that she got to the top by cheating. That's not helpful,” a Republican activist with ties to Trump told The Hill. “That's a losing message. Policies are a winning message. If he has that restraint, he'll win.”
Republicans say Harris represents a change for Trump in many other ways too: She doesn't have as much debate experience as Biden and, despite her background as a prosecutor, didn't distinguish herself from other candidates as a top debater when she ran for president four years ago.
Republican activists also say she struggles when discussing policy details and when she needs to think more on the fly. 2021 Interviews With NBC's Lester Holt.
And yet, while Biden's disastrous performance in June garnered attention, Democrats are quick to point out that Trump was far from the best in the world that night. In the aftermath of the debate, Biden's supporters highlighted some of the former president's comments about “black jobs” and abortions “after birth,” but they were quickly forgotten in the wake of Biden's self-inflicted wounds.
“It's likely he won't have a situation where the presidential candidate he's facing has a stroke onstage,” another Republican strategist joked, “but that's a pretty high bar to clear.”
In response to these changes surrounding the debates, Trump decided to make some changes of his own, including bringing in former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii to help prepare for the debate.
Gabbard took a notable hit at Harris' prosecutorial record during the 2020 debates, and Republicans believe they shouldn't overlook including her in their debate preparations.
“People laugh at Tulsi's involvement, but what it tells me is [the Trump team is] “We're taking this seriously,” Gorman said.
One thing that will remain the same from the last debate to the upcoming one is that the candidates' microphones will be muted when they are not speaking. Harris' campaign had urged Trump to keep the microphones on at all times to give him more opportunities to attack her campaign, and the campaign ultimately relented.
The muted microphones appeared to have served Trump well in the first debate, limiting his ability to press or interrupt Biden — a departure from the first debate four years ago that ultimately proved a turning point and led to a victory for the incumbent president — and even Trump's closest supporters acknowledged that.
“I prefer this format for my dad because it keeps him disciplined and focused,” said Donald Trump Jr., the former president's eldest son. Posted on social platform X During the June debate.
The microphone situation could impair Harris, a former prosecutor known for her tough questioning in Senate hearings,'s ability to cross-examine Trump on stage, something her team has made clear she is eager to do. Harris spokesman Brian Fallon said muted microphones “would serve to shield Donald Trump from direct interaction with the vice president. We believe this is the primary reason the Trump campaign is insisting on muted microphones.”
But that won't stop Harris from trying to unsettle Trump, and Republicans expect she will quickly bring up the fact that Trump was convicted on 34 counts of financial fraud and is accused of sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll.
“I hope [his advisers] “He's preparing for that. … No matter how many personal attacks she launches, he has to get back to policy,” one Senate Republican said.
“If he merely deflects rather than defends it, he will be fighting a battle and losing the war,” they added.
