The Keystone State plays an outsized role in the 2024 presidential election. This week, it will host the only debate between the major party presidential contenders, former President Donald J. Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris earlier named her running mate in Philadelphia, shortly before the Chicago DNC gathering last month. Meanwhile, Trump had his own Pennsylvania surprise, a tragic assassination attempt in rural Butler County, which took the life of a former fireman in the stands and seriously wounded two others.
When President Joe Biden’s campaign selected the network and site and negotiated a long list of rules for these side-by-side matchups, it picked CNN and Atlanta for the June 28 opening forum. There would be a long wait until the second face-off, set for Sept. 10 in Philly.
Team Biden might not have anticipated his performance or hoped that voters’ memories would be too short in November to remember a bumpy night in June.
Regardless, the president’s troubled memory, cognition, and imbalanced performance began the countdown for him, ultimately releasing his convention delegates and withdrawing from the race. An almost immediate endorsement of his vice president set the stage for her to step into his shoes as the Democratic presidential candidate. However, at present, Biden retains the keys and the White House.
Love him or loathe him, most voters, and the American public in general, have formed a strong opinion of Republican candidate Donald Trump. His base is solid, though perhaps not a majority, and though he frequently maintains a casual relationship with facts and truth, his debate style tends toward confidence, bluster, and, most typically, overstating and rounding up his record.
Trump and his staff would have agreed to almost any set of rules to get Biden on the same stage as him. As devastating as they were expecting that contest to be, I think even Team Trump may have overestimated what may be left of Biden’s oratory abilities.
Harris is coming off the heady rush of an adoring convention, enjoying a reinvigorated Democratic Party base and a media coverage honeymoon.
Labor Day is over, and absentee ballots will soon be in the mail. Advance voting, drop boxes, and base turnout efforts on both sides will be in full swing in just over a month.
The vice president now has name identification, though paired with an uneven track record from her prior debate performances. She stunned Joe Biden in the early 2020 presidential debates, reminding him of his earlier opposition to busing to expedite public school integration. She would later stumble herself, though, attempting to reposition herself as primarily a prosecutor and law-and-order candidate.
Now running as the “Lady of Joy,” Harris needs to offer a more tangible vision and set of objectives, while simultaneously challenging Trump’s misstatements and telling her own story.
In 60-to-90-second chunks and 30-second rebuttals, Harris has the harder lift.
Trump, though, is his own worst enemy, full of bluster and with a tendency toward bullying. However, he may find the silence of a studio helps to subdue his usual dogmatic demeanor. For Trump, he should let Harris talk more, just as he did with Biden.
These forums are rules-laden, with no candidate crosstalk or questioning permitted.
Trump later suggested a Fox News night, which Harris declined, and the Harris team proposed another outing on NBC News. Like the Biden debate, this will be a one-and-only opportunity for both candidates.
Trump needs discipline, control, and a bit of his humor and biting sarcasm ... no fits, no stepping into the vice president’s space, or attempts to shout over her answers, as the rules will mute each candidate’s microphone when the moderators have finished a question, follow up, or offered rebuttal time.
About 330 million Americans, roughly 150 to 160 million, are expected to vote for president.
Just under 50 million combined watched the two party nominees give their acceptance speeches. I expect Americans will still tune in in larger numbers to cheer for their favorite and jeer their villain.
A president does need to perform under stress, think on his – or her – feet, and still manage to lead. But these debates are theater, and not always the best or primary indicator of who is the most “presidential.”
The stakes are high, and your vote might still deserve a bit more input than 90 minutes of spoon-fed attack and laugh lines with snippets of vision from each nominee.
That’s just a snack, and to wade through this contest deserves at least a hearty meal of content to digest properly.