After the debate, the election is over – or should be

You can bet your fortune on this: In every future campaign, for any office, political strategists will prepare candidates for campaign debates by having them watch one video, and one video only: Kamala Harris’ performance against Donald Trump.

On September 10, Kamala Harris not only destroyed Trump, she gave a master class in political debate. Rule #1: Prepare yourself, do your homework. Rule #2: Come armed with a clear message, and no matter what question you’re asked, deliver that message. Rule #3: Figure out how to rile up your opponent and get under their skin. Rule #4: Relax. Smile. Stay relaxed. Look like you’re having fun. On every one of these counts, Kamala Harris delivered, and Donald Trump did not. He was angry, insulting, obnoxious, and largely incoherent.

Harris had certainly done her homework. From the economy to health care to immigration to Ukraine to abortion, she knew the issues like the back of her hand. She even proposed a new plan to help families and small businesses. Trump, on the other hand, offered nothing but new tariffs, which most economists say would raise consumer prices. Surprisingly, after eight years of promising to replace Obamacare with something better, he admitted he still had no new plan, just “concepts.”

Harris also brought a message and delivered it forcefully: enough of the division, enough of the name-calling and personal insults, she said repeatedly, it’s time to “turn the page.” We already know what a mess Trump made of the presidency the first time around, and “we’re not going back.” And, as if on cue, all Trump could do was lie about his record, brag about getting more votes than any other Republican presidential candidate, and refuse to acknowledge that Joe Biden got seven million more votes than he did.

And, my goodness, Harris knew how to get under Trump’s skin. It was the perfect cat-and-mouse game. Time and time again, she baited the trap—and, each time, Trump fell for it: on John McCain; on his multiple felony convictions; on members of his own administration who disowned him; on foreign leaders who mocked him. But nowhere more so than when she talked about the crowds leaving his campaign rallies early—to which Trump could only stammer and, without evidence, accuse her of paying people to attend his rallies.

Throughout, Harris has maintained her composure. My advice: Go back and watch at least part of the debate with the sound off. Watch them side by side. You don’t need to hear what they’re saying to know who’s winning and who’s losing. She’s listening. She’s looking at him when she’s talking to him. She’s smiling or laughing out loud at some of the outrageous things he’s saying. She’s having a great time. Whereas Trump just glares at her, never smiles once, looks tired, and clearly can’t wait to leave the stage to the left.

In his opening remarks, Harris warned us that we were going to hear a lot of lies from Trump. Yet no one expected him to go this far. Among his countless lies: Kamala Harris hates Israel; Joe Biden hates Kamala Harris; Harris will take away your guns; Harris still opposes fracking; crime is down everywhere in the world except here; Democrats support the execution of newborns; and, my favorite, Haitian immigrants are stealing and eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio. “They’re eating the pets,” he shouted.

After moderator David Muir pointed out that Springfield’s city manager told ABC News that the accusation was false, Trump supporters accused Muir and co-moderator Linsey Davis of fact-checking Trump three times. Ha! If they were really doing their jobs, they would have fact-checked Trump 300 times.

But Trump’s biggest lie was that women could trust him on reproductive rights. And that’s where Harris proved herself: She destroyed Trump by passionately pointing out that he was the one who killed Roe v. Wade and was bragging about it today and that, if reelected, he would sign a national law banning abortion (which Trump has not denied). She is responsible for this issue.

Of course, a debate doesn’t decide an election. If it did, after this week’s debate, this election would be, and should be, over. But the debate served an important purpose: to prove to the 67.1 million viewers who had yet to make up their minds that Kamala Harris was fit to be president on day one and that Donald Trump never was, and is even less fit to be president today.

Plus, Taylor Swift’s support is the cherry on top.

Bill Press’s column is published by Tribune Content Agency. His email address is [email protected].