Kamala Harris had a lot to lose… and she didn’t lose. In a debate with Donald Trump on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, September 11, the candidate proved to be much more pugnacious and skillful than some had imagined, managing to present herself as the candidate of the middle class (“I have a plan for you but Donald Trump doesn’t”) and the president of the future: “It’s time to turn the page because Americans are tired of the old Trumpian rhetoric.” And this, while imposing the idea that she has shoulders broad enough to resist Russia, China and… Donald Trump.
Far from being destabilized by the latter, Harris, on the contrary, attacked his temperament, his record and his rather ambiguous relationship with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. According to her, Trump is showing off but in reality suffers from a weakness of character that endangers the security of the United States. “Dictators support you because they know they can easily manipulate you,” she attacked. “Someone like you, they eat him for breakfast.”
With the obvious and successful aim of bruising his ego, Kamala Harris also invited viewers to go to a Trump rally. “You’re going to find out he talks about crazy stuff like Hannibal Lecter [NDLR : le personnage de fiction du Silence des agneaux, un criminel] but he never talks about you, your needs, your dreams, your desires,” she stressed. “You will also realize that people leave before the end,” she added. Implied: because Trump tirelessly repeats the same old refrains.
Harris effective in all registers
On the economy, as on foreign policy – two supposed weak points – Harris did not disgrace herself. Effective in all areas, the candidate, a skilled tactician probably briefed by her friend Barack Obama, projected the image of a presidential woman capable of occupying the position of “Commander in Chief”. More generally, she proposed a very “Obamian” vision of America based on unity, reconciliation, reconciliation and overcoming differences in order to better underline the difference with the deadly vision of Trump who promises “a third world war” in the event of Harris’ election and constantly speaks of “disaster”, “nightmare”, “carnage”.
In all, the vice president, until now largely unknown to the public, has removed all suspicions of superficiality and potential incompetence that weighed on her. All those who – including the author of these lines – had bet that she would never be the Democratic Party’s candidate because she lacked the stuff must revise their judgment a little…
Kamala Harris’s performance since Sunday, July 21, the night Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of office, has been impressive. In less than eight weeks, she has united the Democratic Party behind her name, galvanized activists, launched an election campaign, selected a hot running mate (Minnesota Governor Tim Walz), attracted Republican support, and finally held her own against Donald Trump in a crucial televised debate where many feared she would stumble. It seems that Kamala Harris is set to surprise us. In any case, she has performed flawlessly so far.