Trump's blunder at the debate made Harris redefine the election campaign

Democrats want nothing more than to turn the 2024 election into a decision about Trump, repeating the message of four years ago. Trump and Republicans would like to link Harris to President Joe Biden's unpopularity, banking on voters' economic apathy and a general longing for a pre-Covid-19 world.

Trump addressed the issue directly, asking why Harris is promising to tackle immigration and economic problems when she is already in office.

“Why didn't she do it? She's been there for three and a half years,” he said.

But he only got to that point in his closing argument – ​​the political equivalent of a garbage time touchdown.

“Look, I think his closing remarks were absolutely a critical part of the debate because he clearly stated the entire message up to that point, which was: Kamala Harris says she wants to do all these great things. Kamala Harris is currently vice president of the United States, why isn't she doing it now?” Republican vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance said on CNBC's “Squawk Box” on Thursday morning.

Vance praised his running mate's performance, but not everyone in Trump's circle is so enthusiastic. The New York Times reported that several Trump advisers “viewed the evening as a colossal missed opportunity.” Even some of Trump's usual defenders publicly criticized him.

“I was hoping that when I left, we had the most secure border in 40 years, mortgage rates were below 3 percent, gasoline was $1.87, we had the Abraham Accords, we were energy independent – you screwed it all up,” Senator Lindsey Graham told Politico.

Harris's provocation of Trump helped throw him off course. Trump botches even the most basic attack on the Harris-Biden connection, claiming at one point that Biden “hates” his own vice president. (Don't ask Mike Pence about that.)

According to the New York Times, Harris spent 46% of her time attacking Trump, while he spent only 29% of his time attacking him. This statistic caught the attention of famed Bush adviser Karl Rove, who called the night a “train wreck.” Trump, a follower of Roy Cohn, forgot the controversial lawyer's most famous saying: “Attack, attack, attack” when he needed it most.

Trump spoke more than five minutes longer than Harris. And yet, you can't say that advantage mattered when you see how he spent his time. He talked about the size of the crowds at his rallies (“We have the biggest rallies”), his Ivy League education (“Look, I went to the Wharton School of Finance”), Hunter and Joe Biden (“They're getting all this money from Ukraine”), and even why the people he fired are writing negative exposés (“Because they can write books with me”).

And yes, he spread the bizarre and debunked theory that Haitian migrants in a small Ohio town are eating people's pets.

“They eat the pets of the people who live there,” he said.

At his first major rally after the debate, Trump was still talking about animals.

Harris took full advantage of Trump's missteps

It's hard to believe, but Harris has embarked on a generational change plan, even though Democrats have controlled the White House for most of the past decade – and, of course, now.

“It's important that we move forward and leave this old, hackneyed rhetoric behind,” Harris once said.

Trump's biggest hope is that Harris has left voters still unclear about where she stands. A New York Times-Siena poll before the debate found that 28 percent of likely voters wanted to know more about Harris, while perceptions of Trump were largely set.

As expected, debate moderators pushed Harris to change her stance on fracking, gun buybacks and immigration. She promised to “debate every single point — at least every point that she's raised.” Instead, she spoke briefly about her change of heart on banning fracking before ending with an attack on Trump's legacy. And true to form, Trump rose to the bait all evening, spending the first part of his response defending the money his father gave him.

Harris will make waves in the swing states this weekend.

Harris and her running mate Tim Walz are on their “New Way Forward Tour” as the Democratic candidate and their spouses in the few states that will decide this race. Harris has visited North Carolina and Pennsylvania, while Walz has stopped in Michigan and Wisconsin. Their spouses, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz, have visited Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire and Maine together.

According to Politico, Harris will also give further interviews as part of the blitz campaign.

Trump, for his part, campaigned in Arizona on Thursday and in Michigan on Friday. He won both states in 2016 but lost to Biden four years later.

Harris is still slightly ahead in the key national polls, but the race is even more exciting in the important swing states.

It's unlikely that there will be any more major head-to-heads in the race. Walz and Vance will debate on October 1, but traditionally the vice presidential debates don't attract as much attention. After changing his mind several times, Trump announced before the weekend that he would not debate Harris again.

It remains to be seen whether Trump can find his footing during his often long and rambling speeches. If not, November 5 could be his next big disappointment.