2024 Elections

With the first — and possibly only — presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump set to take place in just under two weeks, one Washington Post political analyst proposed a path to take on Trump differently from what has occurred in previous face-to-face standoffs.

In his column, Matt Bai surmised that it is likely that the Harris campaign will lean toward baiting Trump into one of his infamous spasms of interruptions and insults which, in the long run, arm him with viral moments and soundbites to be used to make later claims that he won.

According to the columnist, Harris showed at the Democratic National Convention a Trump-less approach in her acceptance speech that seems to have struck a chord with voters as evidenced by her boost in the polls.

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That, he suggested, should be the path to take relegating Trump to looking like a "blathering prop" as she pays him little heed.

Pointing out that Harris' inner circle "is pushing for open mics, hoping Trump will lose his composure while she’s talking and say something especially unhinged," Bai wrote the VP should avoid making the debate about the former president and what he might do and make it about herself and what she has to offer comparatively.

"I'd put all my energy, instead, into embodying generational change and the modern American story, as she did so ably at the convention. Talk about your mixed race, your mother, your hope for all of our daughters" he wrote before advising, "When Trump blusters, brush him off gently like a cranky old neighbor who has forgotten to take his pills."

"Voters don’t need to see contempt and moral posturing from Harris. They want a candidate who can respond to craziness with grace, warmth, humor and confidence — all the things Trump so painfully lacks. They want someone to get us unstuck from a long moment of useless fury," he wrote.

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