Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
You could see that Vice President Kamala Harris won the debate even if you had the sound off. It started with the way she opened the debate, striding across the stage to shake Donald Trump’s hand. He tried to dodge the shake, and she had to kind of chase him to make it happen.
Right there, she looked like the more adult person who was insisting on civility, humanity and manners. It also established her as the alpha — before they even began to talk, she was directing the action.
Presidential debates are a theatrical performance in which most of the audience is looking for three main things. Does the candidate seem like an alpha? Do they have a strong command of the issues? Can they command the respect of voters and world leaders? Harris seemed alpha. She seemed poised. She seemed informed. She also seemed amused by the silly little man on the stage with her. At times, she looked like she was looking at a child who was lying and being the adult, knowing that he was lying but letting him finish. Meanwhile, Trump seemed angry. He was hunched over. Even with the sound off, you could tell that he was yelling. She was talking. This will matter for the next four years when the president is on TV; do you want to be talked to or yelled at?
Often, during the debate, there was a split screen. When Trump was talking, we often got Harris looking at him with pity or condescension or puzzlement, like, what is he talking about? At times, she laughed at him. Harris made Trump look smaller than any debate opponent he’s ever had. Before tonight, he seemed Teflon and able to roll over anyone. Harris was the first debate opponent to make him look weak. This debate was so bad for Trump that I saw a discussion online that Republicans should dump him as their candidate. I started that discussion but still, they should.
One moment that crystallized the entire night for me was when Trump repeated his oft-told lie about crime being high in America because of immigrants. That’s his bread and butter — demonizing immigrants. We’ve been hearing it since he first came down the escalator. But, refreshingly, he was immediately fact-checked by ABC’s David Muir who corrected him by saying that the FBI has reported that violent crime is going down in the U.S. Wow, look at that, media working in service of the truth and refusing to look away while Trump lies. Hallelujah. (ABC’s moderators did a great job.) But Trump, never one to allow himself to seem graceful, retorted Muir’s fact check, saying the FBI is a fraud. Trump lives in an upside-down world where he says he can’t trust the FBI but does trust Vladimir Putin. It’s so typical of Trump — rather than admit he’s incorrect, he’d rather disparage a venerable American institution. After Trump finished shoveling symbolic dirt on himself, Harris floated in saying, “This is so rich.” She was laughing at him. Like you might laugh at a kitten that’s gotten itself caught in a ball of string. Harris repeatedly made him look small.
Apparently, Trump lives in a bizarre world where babies are executed right after birth, immigrants eat pets for dinner, prisons are doing transgender operations on undocumented immigrants and America is a failing nation. Harris, on the other hand, is both optimistic and clear-eyed. As she moves through America, she sees a nation of neighbors. She’s a Democrat who’s a gun owner. She believes that strength means lifting people up. She’s bullish about America.
The dynamic between them — as she answered questions and he danced away from them — was like the girl who’d done every bit of the homework versus the boy who’d none of it. A lot of voters came into this debate wondering who Harris really is — voters who care about politics but don’t pay close attention to it all the time so they don’t know that much about Harris. In the debate’s first moments, she humanized herself as a child of the middle class who’s a champion of small business owners. She told voters what she wants to do — make life a little easier for the middle class. If you’re having a baby, buying your first home or starting a business, her government will help out by giving you money. The contrast was clear — Harris is someone who says she wants to put middle-class voters first. Trump is a walking vat of chaos. I’m not sure what he wants to do beyond closing the border and being cruel to immigrants.
Harris won the debate by a lot, but we will have to wait to see if that really matters.
Postscript: Moments after the debate ended, we learned that Taylor Swift had endorsed Harris, and whatever you personally think of Swift or her music, it’s undeniable that she’s extraordinarily popular and influential, especially among millennial and Zoomer white women. Spare me your musical critique and your disgust of celebrity culture, Swift’s endorsement is valuable. I’m reminded of how influential Swift is every time one of my daughters’ friends comes over and talks about how much she loves Swift. This summer, I told that young Swiftie: Everything Taylor does Beyoncé does better. Singing, dancing, songwriting, fashion, concert design, video creation, everything. Last night, I heard about how excited she was that Swift had endorsed Harris. I told her, that is definitely exciting. Then I said that Beyoncé tacitly endorsed Harris over a month ago when she gave Harris the right to make her song “Freedom” a central part of her campaign, but we are thrilled to have young Taylor join the train that Beyoncé is already on.
Toure is a host and writer at TheGrio. He hosts the TheGrio TV show “Masters of the Game,” and he created the award-winning podcast “Being Black: The ’80s” and its upcoming sequel “Being Black: The ’70s.” He is also the creator of “Star Stories” and the author of eight books, including “Nothing Compares 2 U an oral history of Prince.” He also hosts a podcast called “Toure Show.” He is also a husband and a father of two.