Every four years, over 50 million Americans tune in to watch the Presidential debate. The United States has been the host of intense election drama, including the attempted assassination of Former President Donald Trump. However, in a recent survey conducted by the New York Times, the American public expressed a desire for a new candidate, given that Kamala Harris has served as Vice President for the past four years and Donald Trump has already completed a term as President.
The Vice-President has branded her campaign as a ‘fresh face,’ emphasising unity and building an inclusive society. The polling has changed in the weeks following Biden’s exit from the race. In previous polling for the 2024 election, Biden was trailing behind Trump. Following Biden’s drop out of the race, Vice President Harris has slowly overtaken Former President Trump and remains in the lead.
Harris has effectively marketed her campaign; she has gained the support of many beloved figures. She even featured one of Beyonce’s songs in her campaign video, which resonated with her audience. In contrast, when Trump attempted to use the same song, Beyonce’s label and publisher blocked it, forcing him to delete it.
To appeal to more moderate voters, the Vice President has changed her position on certain policies. These policies include fracking and immigration, taking a more moderate stance as a larger percentage of the American public have stated they believe that Harris is too liberal rather than Trump being too conservative. Trump has used this change of policy to try and dissuade her supporters.
Donald Trump’s campaign and direction in the debate was putting down Biden’s administration and stating that Vice President Kamala Harris is ‘worse than Biden,’ also stating in the debate that ‘she is Biden.’ Former President Trump has focused on his previous administration and the work that he managed to do in that time as well as the connections he has made during his time in office. Trump frequently mentioned his relationship with President Putin in the debate.
It was expected that the debate would be heated, but it was more lively than expected. Former President Trump took Harris’s bait and reacted to all the comments in a way that Harris’s popularity is expected to continue to grow.
Kamala Harris used the debate to reinforce the ‘fresh start’ narrative of her campaign. The phrases ‘turn the page,’ ‘same old rhetoric’ and ‘same old playbook’ were used multiple times to give the impression that Donald Trump is stuck in the past and isn’t the fresh start that the American public have stated they want. She then followed with a statement during the debate that she is looking to take America into the future. The question is how much has the debate affected the polls and will this be the end of Trump’s political career.
Image taken from @KamalaHarris Twitter account.
