Debate-Night Coaching: 10 Pointers for Kamala Harris

MemoTo: Kamala HarrisFrom: Mark McKinnonRe: Debate StrategyAs a former Republican operative, I can’t do much to help you, other than scream from the rooftops, and on television—as I have been doing since 2016—that we must not, under any circumstances, elect Donald Trump.

You are as good at the debate game as any I’ve seen. We’ve seen your prosecutorial chops in the halls of Congress. We all remember when you almost took out Joe Biden with a roundhouse in 2019 (admonishing him for his stand on busing) and how you gamely went toe-to-toe with Mike Pence in the general election the following year. True, you had help from a big wingman: the fly. The fly dominated that debate. But you were very, very good.

And I don’t need to remind you that you have some of the best in the business assisting you as you go through the prep. There’s Hall of Famer Karen Dunn. You’ve got a secret weapon in Trump stand-in Philippe Reines, who—aside from comedian-impersonators Matt Friend and Elon Gold—knows the former prez’s tendencies better than anyone. Not to mention other pros in your orbit, like Brian Fallon and Jennifer Palmieri (a sometime contributor to the Hive).

So it’s unlikely that I can offer any great insights you haven’t heard. But since this election, in my view, is existential, I have to throw my thoughts over the transom. I’ve prepped George W. Bush, John McCain, and, yes, the latter’s VP pick, Sarah Palin—for her debate with her then Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden. She actually fared pretty well—“Can I call you Joe?”—in large part because expectations were so low.

Here, then, are my pointers for Tuesday’s matchup.

1. Confidence is key. Especially against Trump. This won’t be a problem for you because you’ve been in the ring a lot and you know the drill. Don’t worry about what you don’t know (especially against Trump). Just focus on what you feel strongly about and polish those talking points like ball bearings.

2. “Tomorrow” is better than yesterday. The greatest challenge you face is that you are basically an incumbent running in an election that has people hungry for change. That puts you in the awkward position of arguing: Stay the course—it’s time for a change. Which is why your new theme, “A New Way Forward,” has been resonating so well on the hustings. It sure as hell beats the MAGA man gaping at his own reflection in the rearview mirror. Forward, march! During the debate, you need to stick to this message like that fly on Pence’s pompadour. It is the right one for the right time—and the time is now.

3. You can square the circle and be both the incumbent and the “change” candidate. In my experience, it is possible for an incumbent to overcome the underlying “message dissonance” of arguing for change. When I worked for George W. Bush in 2000, we had a similar hurdle, given the fact that we were positioned as the challenger against then vice president Al Gore, at a time when the economy was propulsive and voters felt buoyant about the future. So we were in the position of arguing: Things are going well, so let’s switch horses. Not easy. But we won that round, if narrowly. Then, in 2004, the impediment was just the opposite. We were bogged down by an unpopular conflict in Iraq, and Bush was very unpopular himself. So then we had to argue: Things are pretty screwed up, but stay the course.

The good news is that the very historic nature of your candidacy embodies change. The age difference. The race difference. The gender difference. All of which, I would posit, you have been very smart to minimize. Because belaboring them makes it about you, not voters.

4. Any pronouncements that can create some kind of separation between you and President Biden are strongly encouraged. Don’t worry about your old boss; he’s a big boy and he’s polishing his gold watch. And he, more than anyone, wants you to win.

5. Drive home the “freedom” message, which has worked effectively on the stump and at the Democratic National Convention. Keep insisting that the Democrats, not the Republicans, have the monopoly on freedom. It upends people’s expectations—and takes back the mantle of rights, patriotism, and lowercase-d democratic values from the GOP, which has long had a lock on the “freedom” thing. It also offers you a tip of the spear other than “democracy is under threat,” which was Biden’s main mantra. Go ahead, paraphrase your own running mate, Tim Walz, who said at the DNC: “When Republicans use the word freedom, they mean that the government should be free to invade your doctor’s office, corporations free to pollute your air and water, and banks free to take advantage of customers. But when we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean…freedom to make your own health care decisions, your kids’ freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot.”

6. Bait—and switch. You’ve been very disciplined about not taking the bait from Trump on issues like your race. I’d say bait him back—with fact-based, commonsense arguments that will drive him crazy, like your administration’s actual jobs record versus his.

7. Almost ignore him from time to time. He hates-hates that. You and Walz have figured out how to pick the lock on his psyche. Don’t call him dangerous—it only makes him appear stronger and bigger. Keep hitting him with weird. Keep bruising his ego. Not with head shakes and tut-tutting (neither of which works in a debate), but by brushing off his absurdities with clarity. You don’t need to land a heavy blow, just a deft gut punch—and gut check—every now and then. Keep deflecting his jabs with composure, poise, and mild disbelief bordering on low-grade disdain. It diminishes him and makes him smaller.

8. Laugh. I know the debate is serious business, but throw in a couple of your famous belly laughs. Everyone but Trump—and voters unsure of their own manhood—loves them and finds them charming. And when you do, you might want to say: “Donald, I know you don’t like my laugh and you’ve publicly criticized it, but you know what’s weird? I can’t remember you ever laughing. What’s that about? What are you afraid of? I know these are serious times, but is there any joy in your life? Ever?”

Yes, you want to appear sober and presidential, as you did in the CNN interview with Dana Bash. But joy is a big part of your brand. It’s what much of the electorate is pining for.

9. It’s okay to show some vulnerability. I think this is the hardest thing for you. But most voters would be entirely sympathetic if, for example, you said, regarding an issue like fracking: “You know what? We know a lot more about fracking today than when I initially opposed it. We know that we can extract gas safely. That it’s cleaner than oil. That it provides needed energy and gives the United States a strong export and a competitive global advantage. I don’t change my mind for political convenience, but because I’m open to new information and growth. Hel-lo!”

10. At one point, accuse Trump of trying to blow up the debate itself. Already, the guy’s been bashing ABC, the network that will broadcast the debate, and impugning the reputations of Disney Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden, who oversees properties including ABC, and her husband, producer Matt Walden (both of whom are friends with Harris and her entertainment-lawyer husband, Doug Emhoff), claiming in his latest Trump-as-martyr conspiracy theory that the couple, whom he did not identify by name, would give the Harris team the questions in advance. This is a ruse from Trump’s (and his late attorney-mentor Roy Cohn’s) tired playbook that he has shamelessly used in the courtroom and in his objections to the outcome of the last election: sow a sense of doubt about both the eventual results and the very nature of the proceedings. The implication? That the debate will somehow be “rigged” to his disadvantage.

Criticizing the network and an executive who oversees it is demeaning; it’s intended to demean—and it has the scent of flop sweat, of a candidate and a campaign fearing their own shadows and deliberately attempting to set low expectations for the audience. You should call him out on it. You might even want to quote the Army lawyer who, in the divisive 1950s Red Scare hearings, turned the tables on Senator Joseph McCarthy when he rebuked the lawmaker in front of a national audience, asking: “Have you no sense of decency, sir?” That one phrase, in effect, helped trigger the senator’s swift public demise.

In sum: There are three moments in a presidential campaign that allow you to predictably affect your public perception in the eyes of undecided voters—your announcement, your convention speech, and the debates. You’ve done brilliantly with the first two, but the third may be the most important, which is why I think it’s really smart that you’re locked down right now in debate prep. My old colleague Matthew Dowd, a very intelligent political strategist, theorizes that one debate equals roughly 20 days on the campaign trail. That’s huge when game day is only two months out.

This debate is as important for your fortunes as the last one was for Biden’s. You’re on the big stage with the hot lights against the most ornery, whiny, double-talking, and, frankly, malevolent American presidential candidate in recent memory. We know him. We know what he’s going to do. People are tuning in for you. We want to see how you hold up. We want to see what you’ve got. For many people who’ll be going to the ballot box, impressions of you are still soft, not yet cemented. And the Trump campaign has only one strategy left: disqualify you before you can effectively set your own narrative.

Forty-four years ago a candidate who wasn’t taken seriously and wasn’t well-defined took advantage of a debate against an incumbent president who was very well-defined and not very well-liked. And that’s the moment Ronald Reagan turned the corner and crushed Jimmy Carter. It’s obviously a very different time, but there are some parallels. Voters don’t really know you yet. But they could come Tuesday.

This is your chance. You’re carrying an enormous burden of hope for those who want real change, for those who went to the mat for Hillary Clinton, for those who see you and Walz as fresh alternatives, for those who’ve been in the trenches fighting Trump since he first came down that escalator.

You’ve got this. You’re ready. It’s your time.

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