Yup: She Knows Donald Trump's Type

In their first meeting and first debate, Kamala Harris turned the page on...whatever that was

She had the upper hand from the first moment, and it was delivered with authority and grace. As the candidates walked onto the stage from their respective sides, MVP Harris strode over to his podium and extended her hand. “Kamala Harris,” she said, with such possession of self and stage that he seemed rattled from the jump. 

That jump was swiftly followed by a careening plunge into an unhinged rant of lies and impotent rage, with any pretense of composure from Trump being completely shattered when the Vice-President baited her opponent by addressing the nation with the following:

“I’m going to invite you to attend one of Donald Trump’s rallies because it’s a really interesting thing to watch…he talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter. He will talk about how windmills cause cancer. And what you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom. And I will tell you the one thing you will not hear him talk about is you. You will not hear him talk about your needs, your dreams, and your desires…I believe you deserve a president who actually puts you first. And I pledge to you that I will.”

In that moment, he and his inordinately fragile ego were entirely destabilized. Humpty-Dumpty had a great fall. And he never managed to put himself back together again. How is this man still so easily triggered by a well-delivered dig about crowd size? 

One mention of his weird subject matters and diminutive rally attendance, and he was frazzled enough to bring up the latest xenophobic drivel coming out of the rightwing fever swamps: that pet dogs and cats are being abducted and eaten by Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio. (To his credit, moderator David Muir had an instant fact-check at the ready, as ABC had confirmed with Springfield’s city manager that no such thing has happened there.) The former president then explained his rigorous method for acquiring his high-quality intel: “Well, I’ve seen people on television…”

Kamala’s face then told us all we needed to know. ‘Oh, I got this.’ A moment later, she looked at him with the last expression he wanted to see: abject pity. 

With confidence and apparent ease, the Vice-President handled him like a boss, and like the person we want to be leading our nation. She methodically placed a series of Trump grievances on the hook…and in doing so, revealed to the nation and the world just how helpless he is at restraining himself from taking the bait. 

While remaining cool-headed throughout the 90 minutes they shared the stage, she pummeled him on everything. She spoke with expertise and compassion about reproductive rights and those who are suffering from the abortion ban for which he has proudly taken credit (and has since flip-flopped depending on the hour of the day and the audience). She spoke about being on the Hill on January 6th when the angry mob he incited breached the Capitol. She reminded us that this was a pattern of his unpatriotic behavior and commentary, referencing his ‘Fine people on both sides’ comments in the wake of Charlottesville, and his appeal to the Proud Boys from his 2020 debate with Biden. She casually mentioned global leaders laughing at him; broached his disrespectful asides about John McCain; and referred to military leaders who have worked with him and now call him a disgrace. She deftly used the question about his claim that she had recently “turned Black” not as a personal insult, but as an opportunity to remind viewers of his long-established record of racism, from his family’s pattern of denying apartments to Black families, to his abhorrent, unacceptable record of calling for the execution of the now Exonerated Five. 

And of course, like any prosecutor worth her salt, she nodded to the fact that he is a convicted felon with several court cases forthcoming, including a criminal sentencing scheduled for a few weeks after the election. On all of these points, Harris knew she only needed to offer the prompt and Trump would do precisely what his advisers had cautioned him against: losing control of his anger and reacting like a weak, rage-filled bully, as usual.

Just so we’re all clear—while MVP Harris was savvy, articulate, and intentional on the issues, they were not hard to research. These are all well-trod, widely-known pressure points from the same old playbook about Trump. They are the subjects that unleash his reactive, blathering excuses and finger-pointing. It is the playbook we all need to consult and remind one another about to ensure that he never returns to the White House. 

Throughout the debate, she was either looking directly into the camera, or turning to address him in the face, then giving him all the time he needed to melt down. This is a man who we now know—but have never seen so effectively baited—is way too easy to manipulate. And, as we must remember, it was not just Americans watching. His short-tempered petulance and predictable vulnerabilities are absurd, but they’re also dangerous. 

Nothing infuriates Trump more than being disparaged, humiliated, delegitimized, and exposed for his true self. Physically hunched, lips pursed, eyes squinting, frustrated, negative, and withered, he resorted to fallacious exhausted rhetoric, and enough attacks on President Biden that ultimately Harris had to remind him that he was, in fact, running against her. 

As Harris looked on, appearing at turns perturbed and bemused, Trump ravaged himself. Among her many strengths on a debate stage is the ability to give plenty of rope, then lean back and coolly watch as her opponent hangs himself with it. And especially when others are asking the questions, much of her strategy could be to just let him showcase his inability to answer Yes or No, and to let him refuse some rather straightforward softballs. He refused to acknowledge that he lost the election (suggesting that recent admissions of loss were stated sarcastically), refused to veto a national abortion ban, refused to say that he wanted Ukraine to win the war against Russia, refused to acknowledge that he had anything to do with Project 2025, refused to take any responsibility for January 6, and absolutely refused to engage in the tremendous challenge of looking his opponent in the eye. You know, like a fellow human.  

In stark opposition, Harris came off as measured, rational, and motivated. She delivered multiple policy plans right out the gate, whereas—even when pressed about having gone nine years without releasing a promised healthcare plan for the country—he could only respond by stating that he had “concepts of a plan.” (Such weak-sauce responses kind of make you wonder what they were doing during his alleged policy sessions.) She repeatedly addressed the American people at home. She reiterated her desire to govern for the entire country, to bring us together, to be a president for everybody, and to turn the page on the senseless division upon which Trump thrives. But she also proved that she knows how to throw a punch, and is unafraid to do so: as in the moment when she noted that Donald Trump had been fired by 81 Million people. Oof.

As an almost excessive (but very welcome) icing on an already-delectable cake, Taylor Swift provided the ultimate coda to the debate, by posting a statement almost immediately afterward, informing her 283 Million followers that (as a proud childless cat lady), she was placing her informed and enthusiastic endorsement behind Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

We all know how many different filters and lenses will be revealed tomorrow. It’s impossible to know how it will be covered; how much sane-washing, cherry-picking, double-standards, bogus grading curves, and general distortion will clog up our feeds. We know that Harris will be scrutinized by more piercing eyes, and every response she uttered tonight will be judged far more harshly than the grumpy garbage that oozed sadly from the former president’s mouth.

However, having just witnessed their unfiltered performance, untainted by misleading headlines, we can go to sleep secure in the knowledge that Kamala Harris emerged from this consequential moment as the joyful warrior we need. She’s the only one prepared to reach out her hand to America and assure us that it is time to move forward.   

None of that means we can rest easy, take anything for granted, or allow Harris’s triumph to make us complacent. But tonight offered some inspiring and convincing evidence that, so long as we all keep doing our part, We’re Not Going Back.