Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris shakes hands with Donald Trump during a presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 2024. | Source: SAUL LOEB / Getty
Regardless of what happens in November, you really have to give it to Vice President Kamala Harris. No political opponent of Donald Trump has been able to get him spun out the way she has. When it comes to Trump’s election strategy, all he really does is lie and berate his opponents incessantly. That hasn’t worked on Harris. No matter how much he calls her “dumb,” “stupid” and “Lyin’ Kamala,” she remains poised and confident. She doesn’t get worked up when he questions her racial identity, or when JD Vance and others take shots at her for not birthing biological children. Those attacks bounce off of her and usually backfire against her detractors.
Trump, on the other hand, has not been able to hold onto his poker face when being challenged by Harris. He was transparently afraid to debate Harris the first time, and she ultimately proved he had reason to be. She effortlessly baited him in September — to the point where she poked a little bit of fun at his glaring insecurity regarding his crowd sizes (not to mention his jealousy of hers) and he got so flustered he started ranting about pet-eating immigrants, which has continuously bitten him in the hind parts (pun intended) ever since. She went at him during her speech at the Democratic National Convention, and he responded by rage-tweeting like a maniac and calling into Fox News multiple times to whine about it.
MORE: Fox News Host Says Trump Is Dodging A Second Debate On His Network, Not Kamala Harris
So, Trump made it clear on Wednesday that there would be no second debate, which, to be fair, would be understandable considering we’re just weeks away from Election Day — but that’s not why he’s refusing, and Harris knows it. During a rally in Chandler, Arizona, on Thursday, Harris called Trump out on his cowardice with Muhammad Ali-level trash talk, even going so far as to call him “weak,” which you just know had him soiling his MAGA-wear while throwing another toddler-like tantrum.
“Y’all might have seen that just last night, Donald Trump officially ruled out any more debates,” Harris said. “I think it’s a disservice to the voters. I also think it’s a pretty weak move. But even if he will not debate, the contrast in this election is already clear. This election is about two very different visions… for our nation. One, his, focused on the past. The other, ours, focused on the future.”
Harris went on to boast that the U.S. is ready for “a new optimistic generation of leadership for our country.”
“This will be a very tight race until the very end. We are the underdog, we are the underdog,” she added.
It’s true that Harris is still, indeed, the underdog. While she leads Trump in most polls, including most of the swing states, the race is still too close for her to even start doing stretches in preparation for a victory lap. In Arizona, Trump is still ahead of her 48.9% to 47.7%, according to an aggregation of polls from Decision Desk HQ/The Hill. Even in the states she appears to be winning, her lead is slim and within the margin of error. (Hillary Clinton was in the same spot in 2016, and we all remember how that went.)
Still, Harris’ confidence in contrast with Trump’s transparently brittle ego has been a sight to witness.
After the overwhelming majority of Americans agreed he lost that debate soundly, he immediately refused a second debate, delusionally claiming polls showed he won, which they did not. Of course he doesn’t want to debate her a second time. He even has Fox News anchors saying he’s the one tucking tail and ducking her. Harris knew before he refused again on Wednesday that he would never agree to go toe-to-toe with her again, but she also knows saying it out loud while pointing out his shriveling confidence is how you out-Trump Trump. Whether it will translate to her ascension to the White House next month remains to be seen, but, at the very least, it has been satisfying to watch.
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