Robert GrahamDemocrats privately fear that Vice President Kamala Harris’s debate performance will not meet the party’s expectations after weeks of media hype.
The debate will be the first time many viewers see Harris as the party’s nominee. Harris hid from the media and only sat for one interview. Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, conducted many interviews and is the most experienced debater in the “modern age,” according to CNN.
“People are extremely anxious about her performance,” Ray Zaccaro, a Democrat strategist and former Senate aide, told the Hill, noting the showdown could be “catastrophic or monumental … There’s a sense of real caution about expectations on her performance.”
“Based on the current polling, it is somewhat surprising that she’s not doing better in the polls. This is a make-or-break moment for Harris,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a candidate with more weight on a given moment than this candidate will have at the debate Tuesday.”
Harris will likely try to use the debate to cast herself as an agent of change, even though she has been in power for 3.5 years. Under the Biden-Harris administration, costs soared about 20 percent across the board, migrant crime spiked, illegal immigrants invaded the southern border, Russia invaded Ukraine, and 13 U.S. troops died during the Afghan withdrawal.
