Debates are essential to an election cycle, especially at the presidential level. Since the presidential ticket was set as Donald Trump and J.D. Vance versus Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, two debates have occurred. These debates stand in stark contrast, one an immature squabble and the other a productive discussion.
Both Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris were extremely underwhelming in the presidential debate that took place on September 10th.
The moment that will forever define this debate is Trump’s statement “They’re eating the dogs,” when referring to Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio. This was a baseless claim that seemed unprofessional, immature, and bigoted.
Sixth Former Charlie Noble said, “I think [Trump] says whatever he can to get his fanbase riled up. He doesn’t really care who he’s hurting and just wants to throw someone under the bus. Whether it is Haitians, Latin American immigrants, or so on, it doesn’t really matter to him.”
“He says bigoted things, as he needs to appeal to the extremists who like him,” Fifth Former Desmond Heneks said.
“He seems less mature than past presidents like Joe Biden and Barack Obama,” Fifth Former Seth Virmani said. “It did show during the debate.”
There were also other weak moments for the former president, such as his statement “I don’t have a plan, I have a concept of a plan.”
These all culminated in a rough showing for Trump. According to CNN Polls, he was considered the loser of the debate by 63% of viewers.
Noble said, “I think Kamala Harris had the better performance in the debate. [Trump] took the bait on almost everything she tempted him with. A prime example of this is his tangent about crowd sizes after Harris brought it up once.”
Heneks agreed. “They were both trying to get under each other’s skin, and Harris did a better job of that,” he said. “She had a good strategy to win the debate, and it worked.”
However, Kamala Harris also had flaws in her own performance. She dodged questions, lied many times, and was bailed out by the clearly biased moderators many times.
Virmani said, “[Harris] kept stating that she was from ‘a middle-class family,’ which may be true, but it doesn’t mean anything when she wears a $60,000 necklace to the debate. I felt that she was also using this phrase to avoid tough questions about her policies.”
“She brought up Project 2025 numerous times, and she claimed that it was tied to Trump,” he added. “However, there is no evidence of this, and Trump has never said anything endorsing or commending Project 2025.”
“Harris definitely had a lot of help from the moderators,” Heneks said. “They asked Trump much more probing questions and talked to him in a derogatory tone, while Harris received none of this treatment.”
This debate was one of the worst presidential debates that the country has seen. Both sides lacked substance. Additionally, it felt at times that the debate was meant for entertainment, and wasn’t meant to be taken seriously.
Although both had one or two slip-ups, they both had a really strong showing
“The presidential debate was extremely entertaining,” Heneks said. “But unfortunately that’s all it was.”
Meanwhile, the vice presidential debate between Ohio Senator J.D. Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on October 1st was a reminder of the more civilized debates of the not-so-far-distant past. The two men treated each other like gentlemen, comparing and contrasting their policies and values.
This debate was important for Senator Vance. His approval ratings before the debate were low, as people considered him extreme and unlikeable. However, he made himself seem more human and more relatable.
“I think Vance should be considered the winner of the debate simply because he rewrote his reputation,” Noble said. “The Harris campaign and legacy media both constantly slandered him, without giving him a platform to defend himself. He showed that he was incredibly articulate and has reasonable policies.”
“Although both had one or two slip-ups, they both had a really strong showing,” Virmani said. “It was similar to the Obama versus McCain debates, where both sides were calm, civilized, and articulate.”
Haverford students must watch the debates and understand the vast differences between them. The presidential debate represents American division at its worst, while the vice presidential debate represents American ideals of respectful debate at its near best.
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