What to expect from the first face-to-face between Kamala and Trump

The second presidential debate of 2024 will be the first for Kamala Harris. The vice president, elusive with reporters since her maneuver to oust Biden from the Democratic nomination, arrives at the event with little preparation beyond a single interview in the friendly territory of CNN, to face an expert in this field such as Donald Trump. Moreover, her strategy to unsettle her opponent and steer the debate in her favor was hindered by the decision to cut off microphones when it’s not a candidate's turn to speak. To cap off her challenges, polls have ended their honeymoon with the former California Attorney General, once again placing the Republican contender in the lead.

Kamala will come face-to-face with Trump at the worst possible time for her. Much of this situation is self-inflicted, as she has declined all interview requests except for CNN's and has not held a single press conference in the 51 days since becoming the Democratic candidate, leaving her with little experience in front of the media.

Closed microphones, the last stumbling block for Kamala

Additionally, her team relied entirely on a strategy to disrupt the debate with interruptions and rebuttals, which fell apart after failing to change the rules previously agreed upon by the Biden and Trump campaigns. The rigid format will force her to listen silently to her opponent—though she will likely try to express her opinions through grimaces and gestures during the Republican’s turn—and compel her to defend her proposals and viewpoints, something she hasn’t handled well so far, with speeches that have been lacking in substance and full of contradictions.

Kamala's program, a project for the US or against Trump?

With all this, Kamala decided to publish yesterday a list with her main policy initiatives if she manages to become the 47th president of the USA. In addition to proposing measures that clash head-on with what was done during her term in office together with Biden, as if she had not been an important part of it, her main claim is to criticize -up to 29 references- what Trump would do if he were the one who ends up installing himself in the White House from January 2025.

With all this, Kamala decided yesterday to release a list of her main policy initiatives if she becomes the 47th president of the United States. In addition to proposing measures that directly contradict what was done during her term with Biden—as if she hadn’t played a significant role in it—her main focus is to criticize -up to 29 references- what Trump would do if he were the one to take office in the White House starting in January 2025.

Trump, for his part, is devoting the final days of the campaign to nuance some points such as his position on abortion -no to the proposal that they can be performed until the end of pregnancy, but neither does he share early bans- or the legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

End to Kamala's honeymoon with the polls

Something the public has noticed, which has cut short their honeymoon with the Democratic candidate in the polls, as renowned pollsters like Nate Silver warn that Trump is far ahead in the electoral race in terms of delegate count. In addition, one of the key left-leaning media outlets, The New York Times also shows the former president leading in voter intention. To complete Kamala's statistical headaches, most of the most prestigious and most accurate polls in recent elections also point to a victory for the conservative challenger in key swing states.

Special debate coverage and the best analysis on VOZ

The debate will be broadcast live on ABC beginning at 9 p.m. ET, although the network itself will begin special coverage one hour earlier.

In addition, VOZ will run a special follow up of the head-to-head via its website www.voz.us and across our social networks.