Can Harris prosecute the political case against Trump? Key questions ahead of their debate

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will debate for the first mdash and perhaps last mdash time on Tuesday night as the presidential candidates fight to sway voters on the biggest stage in US politicsThe meeting comes just 75 days after President Joe Bidens disastrous debate performance triggered a political earthquake that ultimately forced him from the race Few expect such a transformative result this time but Trump is on a mission to end Harris ldquohoneymoonrdquo as polls suggest the Democratic vice president is now even mdash or slightly ahead mdash of the Republican former president in some swing statesHarris a former courtroom prosecutor will enter the night with relatively high expectations against a Republican opponent with 34 felony convictions and a penchant for false statements The question is whether Kamala Harris who did not particularly stand out during primary debates in her 2020 presidential campaign can prosecute Trumps glaring liabilities in a facetoface meeting on live television with the world watchingThe 90minute meeting begins at 9 pm ET Tuesday inside Philadelphias National Constitutional Center It will be moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis In accordance with rules negotiated by both campaigns there will be no live audienceHeres what were watching for on a historic night Can Harris do what Biden could not Biden set an incredibly low bar for Harris in the June 27 debate The president struggled to offer coherent arguments or even finish his sentences But the antiTrump coalition was most disappointed that he failed to take advantage of Trumps obvious political liabilities mdash whether on abortion the Jan 6 Capitol attack character issues or his legal troubleHarris is expected to do much better But even with such fertile terrain scoring points against Trump on the debate stage is easier said than done Trump may be the most experienced debater in modern presidential history As a former reality television star he knows how to dominate television coverage And he clearly likes to fightHarris recently suggested that she may be looking forward to a political brawl ldquoDonaldrdquo she told a cheering audience last month in Atlanta ldquoif youve got something to say say it to my facerdquo Can she back up the tough talk The world is about to find outCan Trump focus Trump is not known for his discipline or preparation His debate performances like his governing style are typically fueled much more by instinct than thoughtful analysisTherefore few expect Trump to offer a clear and concise line of attack against Harris on Tuesday night Still he needs to do better than the kitchensink approach hes been testing on the campaign trail for much of the last monthTrump has questioned Harris racial identity Hes falsely called her a communist Hes questioned her strength Hes jabbed her as a San Francisco liberal And hes reminded voters that she has served in the Biden White House for nearly four years and would presumably continue the presidents policies for another four years if she winsIt is the Biden connection that many Republicans inside and outside of Trumps campaign believe is most effective They want him to evoke Ronald Reagans 1980 debatestage jab mdash ldquoAre you better offrdquo mdash early and oftenThe question is whether Trump can deliver that message in a way that isnt immediately overshadowed by a much more controversial statement Recent history offers reasons to be scepticalBody language matters There will of course be an obvious gender dynamic on stage Tuesday nightFair or not body language and tone are viewed differently in a debate between a man and a woman Just ask Hillary Clinton She said Trump made her ldquoskin crawlrdquo when he stood behind her as she was speaking during a town hallstyle debate in 2016The candidates will be expected to stay behind their podiums on Tuesday night But Republicans are hopeful that Trump will avoid any other provocations like pointing yelling or otherwise approaching Harris in a way that might be offputting to suburban women or other swing votersHarris too will face unique challenges related to her race and gender as voters consider whether to make her the nations first female president Some voters still say theyre not comfortable with the idea If she comes across as angry she risks playing into racist tropes about Black womenWhile the gender dynamic looms do not underestimate the significance of their age difference eitherHarris is almost two decades younger than the 78yearold Trump Age was viewed as a political advantage for Trump when he was facing the 81yearold Biden but the situation is now reversed against the 59yearold Harris If he wins Trump would be the oldest US president ever electedThe format will be somewhat different as well in accordance with a set of rules the candidates agreed upon this weekThere will be no live audience no opening statements and no props allowed Candidates microphones will be muted when their opponent is on the clock a stipulation that created some controversy in recent daysTrump reluctantly agreed to the mute function when he faced Biden in June but after that debate his team determined it was a net positive if voters did not hear from the Republican former president while his opponent was speaking Harris team was pushing to return to a normal format without mute buttonsAbortion vs Immigration Policy sometimes plays second to personality in presidential debates but there are dramatic differences between the candidates on key issues that are on the minds of millions of votersRepublicans hope Trump makes immigration a defining issue of the debateThe GOP has effectively condemned the Biden administrations handling of illegal immigration at the USMexico border for much of the last four years Once an issue that appealed mostly to the Republican base illegal immigration mdash and related concerns about drugs crime and national security mdash is now a top issue for voters across the political spectrumHarris will be eager to remind voters that Trump helped kill a bipartisan immigration bill that would have done much to fix the problem But overall Harris is likely to be on the defensive when the issue comes upDemocrats meanwhile want to focus on abortionTrump of course appointed three Supreme Court justices who later overturned the landmark Roe v Wade decision that protected a womans right to choose abortion Trump has repeatedly said he was proud that Roe was defeated But aware that such a view isnt popular among many women he has tried to moderate his stance on the divisive issueHarris wont make that easy Stating the obvious as a woman she is positioned to be a much more effective messenger on the issue than Biden was And Trump cant afford to lose many more female votersLook out for wild card Trump If you ask Trumps previous debate opponents what theyre watching for on Tuesday night mdash and we did mdash many say the same thing Look out for the thing he says or does that Harris cant possibly prepare forTrump is the ultimate wild card who has found tremendous political success by ignoring the traditional rules of politics He will say or do whatever he thinks is best in the moment And Harris who has dedicated several days to debate prep cant make a plan for everythingAt this point its hard to imagine Trump surprising anyone with new material He has praised dictators talked about genitalia size suggested suspending the US Constitution and said that Harris only recently ldquoturned Blackrdquo Trumps own team doesnt know what hell do or say on any given day Thats incredibly risky for Trump But it also puts enormous pressure on HarrisThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever