Trump-Harris debate upends Democrats' expectations game
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Vice President Harris boards Air Force Two on Sept. 9, 2024. Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images.
Democratic members of Congress are ditching the usual pre-debate game of lowering expectations and openly saying they expect Vice President Harris to wipe the floor with former President Trump on Tuesday night.
Why it matters: Several Democrats acknowledged that President Biden's disastrous debate performance in June makes it difficult to take the standard tack of downplaying expectations for Harris.
- Harris "will be measured against" Biden, one senior House Democrat told Axios, adding that, unlike the outgoing president, she has "demonstrated the ability to be consistent."
- "After the last debate, I think everybody tore up the playbook," said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who predicted Harris will be "vastly better" than Biden was.
State of play: Axios spoke to more than a dozen House Democrats on Tuesday, all of whom expressed confidence in Harris.
- "She's had to do this during her years as a prosecutor and she has shown how adept she is ... during her time on the Judiciary Committee in the Senate," said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.).
- Former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Harris is "very smart" and "knows her stuff," adding, "I don't think she's going to let Trump get away with stuff. She's tough."
- Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) told Axios that Harris is "going to effectively get under Donald Trump's skin. She's going to live rent free in his head."
Between the lines: Rep. Jesus "Chuy" García (D-Ill.) said Biden's debate stumbles in June "informs, I think, a lot of feelings" among House Democrats.
- "It certainly plays into expectations and how people are feeling about tonight," he added.
Yes, but: A handful of lawmakers still came armed with at least one argument for why Trump might perform better than expected.
- "She's going up against a guy who will be in his seventh debate ... and for her this is the first. So I think he's a hard guy to debate," said Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) – though he still said he expects Harris to do well.
- Kamlager-Dove argued Harris is "still the underdog," but said she is "not going to take away her shine as a debater."
The bottom line: The senior House Democrat argued Trump's performance is the only uncertainty of the night, giving Democrats leeway to talk Harris up.
- "I think a lot of eyes are really on Trump. Is he going to go off the rails again?" the lawmaker said, arguing there isn't a "massive upside" for Democrats even if Harris performs well.
