Kamala Harris (and Taylor Swift) vs Donald Trump: Who won?
Donald Trump promised world peace by January 6 if elected; Kamala Harris touted her middle-class upbringing then spoke of her hired nanny - and there was more fake news than you can throw a New York Times factchecker at.
It was the first Harris v Trump debate, and it certainly didn't disappoint - at least from an entertainment perspective. But who won - if anyone? Leading crisis management expert Sally Branson shares her thoughts.
Debates have long been critical to political campaigns. A day is a long time in politics and a debate – well it’s the longest, shortest time ever. So little time, so many opportunities for error. I’ve stood in many a back room with my breath held for the entire debate. The famous Kennedy-Nixon debate is often used to teach new campaign staff about the power of image in politics. But it’s worth asking: What lasting impact will this debate have?
Ultimately, Trump supporters will likely think he won, while Harris supporters will think she did. But the real challenge is not just convincing undecided voters. In America, a debate needs to be compelling enough to motivate people to actually go out and vote.
For me, what stands out is the physicality of the events. It’s just as important as the spoken word, if not more so. So we have not actually come that far from Kennedy-Nixon. It’s about physicality on the whole, but whilst making sure you’re policy prepared. Increasingly, though, most voters see debates through social media. People see short video clips, memes, and simple graphics the most. This means candidates need to focus on how they look, how they move and on creating memorable one-liners. Sometimes, these short clips can overshadow the actual policy discussions. We saw this today in Harris’s very visual, camera-ready responses.
Being in such close physical proximity was new for them. This would have been a key coaching consideration. Both Trump and Harris seemed well-trained in how to react and use body language, which is crucial in debates but often overlooked.
Trump’s team looks like they put in a lot of work to prepare for this debate – more than they might have if Biden was the opponent. Trump fell back on his usual style of personal attacks, but there was a clear change in his approach. He looked calmer than usual, which is a deliberate choice to change how people see him. However, he still got drawn into arguments quickly. A friend texted me during the debate, wondering why Trump kept taking Harris’s bait.
Interestingly, Harris seemed to follow advice I wrote about on this very platform – to focus on what makes her different, to lean into the needle-moving issues. The debate organisers, with ratings and news coverage in mind, made sure abortion was front and center – an important policy issue as well as being super engaging and rich from an issues point of view.
This debate gives us a lot to think about in terms of how political communication is changing. It mixes old-style debate traditions with the need to create content for social media.
And let’s talk about the Swifties.
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Taylor Swift announced she will be voting for Harris, posting to Instagram shortly after the debate: “I’m voting for Kamala Harris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.”
We know the Swifties’ power and influence. Could they be just as powerful as a voting bloc? If the eight different Swifties4Kamala Instagram accounts are anything to go by, they could well be.
They’re a political force that could make or break a campaign, and Harris is courting them like a seasoned diplomat.
One final point: I think, for the first time, Trump is frightened. He wouldn’t have put in this much work if he wasn’t.
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