Newsmax political analyst Mark Halperin on Friday warned Republicans not to underestimate Vice President Kamala Harris in her upcoming debate against former President Donald Trump due to her past performances.
Trump and Harris are set to face off in their only scheduled presidential debate on ABC News on Tuesday. Halperin, on “Wake Up America,” said Harris has proven to be an effective debater in the past and has an elite team to prepare her for the event. (RELATED: Trump Campaign’s Simple Plan To Destroy Kamala Harris: Get Her Off-Script)
WATCH:
‘She Is A Good Study’: Mark Halperin Warns Republicans Not To ‘Bet On’ Harris ‘To Screw Up’ Trump Debate pic.twitter.com/aKwjDhgOKt
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 6, 2024
“If you look at her debate performances, both as a candidate against other Democrats in ’19 and … against Mike Pence in ’20, she actually did pretty well. She is a good study,” Halperin said. “She has one of the best debate prep teams, I think, ever assembled around her, Karen Dunn and others who have just incredible experience in this, who she’s comfortable with.”
“So if Republicans, you know, were sort of counting on her to screw up the first interview, that didn’t happen. We know the circumstances, but that didn’t happen,” he continued. “Some Republicans have been counting on her to screw up the debate. Again, could happen, but I wouldn’t bet on it based on her past as a debater.”
The Harris campaign agreed Wednesday to the Trump campaign’s request for the identical muted microphone rules for the ABC debate as the ones CNN imposed during the former president’s June 27 debate against President Joe Biden. Trump challenged Harris to three debates during an August press conference at Mar-a-Lago, but the one on ABC is the only officially scheduled contest.
Pollster Frank Luntz on Monday said that Trump “has questions that he can ask that [Harris] can’t answer” during the debate. The pollster suggested that Trump ask the vice president, “Why did inflation get so high under your administration? What exactly are you going to do if your policies caused it? What can you do to solve it? And most importantly, are you better off today than you were four years ago?”
“It’s not my question. That was Ronald Reagan’s question,” he continued. “If he asked that question plainly, he will be successful. I don’t believe he has the ability to do so.”
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