Trump's best moments before the Harris debate

Trump has a longer track record in national debates than Harris: He participated in 11 Republican primary debates and three general election debates in the 2016 race, two debates against President Joe Biden in 2020 and one against the same opponent earlier this year. Harris, on the other hand, participated in five Democratic primary debates in 2019, along with the vice presidential debate in 2020.

LIVE UPDATES FOR THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: TRUMP AND HARRIS TO APPEAR IN THE ABC SHOWDOWN

That means Trump has already been to 17 national debates, compared to just six. He has also been to debates in a much shorter period of time than his opponent. But her campaign sees the fact that she is nearly 20 years younger than Trump as a strength and is trying to position her as a candidate of change, so they may not care that he has spent more time on stage.

More importantly, Tuesday night's contest will be about who has the most memorable moments, jokes, one-liners and witty sayings that will stick in voters' minds and make the rounds on social media. Harris has a slew of quick-witted debates and will lean on her background as a prosecutor to counter Trump.

Harris' most important moments before the Trump debate: “I'm talking”

Trump, on the other hand, will try to recreate some of the following moments.

“You’re a tough guy, Jeb”

Trump emerged in a 2016 presidential race that looked set to pit former Florida Governor Jeb Bush against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. But as he gained strength in the polls, Trump slammed Bush in the debates, calling him “low-energy Jeb.”

The exchange that followed was one of many in which Trump disparaged the former frontrunner, sarcastically calling him a “tough guy,” rolling his eyes and then sharply criticizing Bush's poll numbers.

President Trump: “Oh, you’re a tough guy, Jeb” pic.twitter.com/UilyPBl5rw

— Dillon Fillion (@DillonFillionIA) May 23, 2023

Bush dropped out in February.

“Don’t worry, little Marco”

After Bush was defeated, Trump directed his witty remarks and nicknames at other opponents, such as Senators Ted Cruz (Republican, Texas) and Marco Rubio (Republican, Florida). While Trump nicknamed Cruz “Lyin' Ted,” Rubio was given the nickname “Little Marco,” which Trump uses in the following clip.

When moderator Chris Wallace said at a debate in March that he had a political question for Trump, Rubio interrupted him and said, “Let's see if he answers it.” Trump replied, “Don't worry, little Marco, I will.”

Even Wallace laughed briefly before trying to restore order.

“On her website she explains how to fight ISIS”

Trump ran against Clinton in the 2016 general election, and until Election Day, she was believed to win. Yet Trump managed to get under Clinton's skin in the three debates, attacking both her character and her tactics.

During their first debate, he attacked Clinton's approach to foreign policy, saying she “tells you on her website how to fight ISIS. I don't think General Douglas MacArthur would be very happy about that.”

This sentence drew laughter and Clinton replied: “At least I have a plan to fight ISIS.”

“Because you would be in prison”

Trump's most famous comment against Clinton may be his five-word retort when she urged viewers at home to fact-check his claims and said it was a good thing someone with his temperament was not in charge of law enforcement in the country.

“Because you would be in jail,” Trump said, immediately dropping his microphone. Moderator Anderson Cooper had to remind the audience not to laugh or cheer during the event.

Trump also sharply criticized Clinton when she accused him of tax evasion: “That makes me smart.” Comedian Dave Chappelle later said that was the moment a star was born.

“I know more about wind than you”

Four years after shocking the nation with his surprise victory over Clinton, Trump faced Biden in 2020 with the pandemic breathing down his neck. His two debates against Biden did not go so well, especially the first, where Trump interrupted both his opponent and the moderator, prompting Biden to say, “Shut up, man?”

Still, he had some good moments.

“He thinks wind causes cancer. Windmills” – Biden

“I know more about wind than you,” Trump replies. pic.twitter.com/DaN2CpJchJ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) 23 October 2020

When Biden praised wind energy to the highest degree, Trump wanted nothing to do with it.

“I know more about wind than you do,” he said. “It's extremely expensive, it kills all the birds, it's very erratic, it causes a lot of problems and, coincidentally, the windmills are made in both Germany and China.”

Biden called on Trump to “find him a scientist who will say that” and said his claims were “false.”

“I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence”

Trump:

“I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don't think he knows what he said either.” pic.twitter.com/dyfQRQ7hjE

– Alexander Sheppard 🇺🇸 (@NotAlexSheppard) June 28, 2024

In the first debate of 2024, Trump did indeed prevail against Biden, although this may be due more to the incumbent's difficulties than to Trump's statements.

With the microphones muted between answers, Trump chose to ignore Biden's halting speech for much of the debate. But when Biden spewed out a confusing series of words while attempting to lay out his border policy, Trump couldn't resist.

“I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence,” Trump said. “I don't think he knows what he said either.”

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Less than a month later, Biden was gone and Trump had a new opponent.

Harris, while doing better in the polls than Biden, is known for serving up her own word salad and must defend a policy paper that came out just the day before the debate. Both candidates say they are ready for the fight.