Harris prepares for the showdown she’s long sought with Trump as he takes more informal approach

Eric Bradner, Jeff Zeleny, Alayna Treene and Arit John, CNN

PHILADELPHIA (CNN) — The astir important infinitesimal successful nan title betwixt Kamala Harris and Donald Trump comes this week, arsenic nan vice president prepares for what could beryllium her only opportunity to straight face a erstwhile president whose governmental power she is pledging to end.

Their Tuesday nighttime statement is peculiarly important for Harris, who is battling to specify herself successful voters’ eyes and support up nan affirmative momentum she’s enjoyed since becoming nan Democratic Party’s caller nominee this summer.

The statement astatine nan National Constitution Center successful Philadelphia will beryllium nan first face-to-face brushwood betwixt Harris and Trump, who are locked successful a tight race.

For Harris, it’s a marquee infinitesimal to show Americans that she is fresh to presume nan presidency, a mobility very overmuch connected nan minds of voters arsenic nan autumn run intensifies.

“Look, it’s clip to move nan page connected nan divisiveness,” she said during a play extremity successful Pittsburgh, taking a break from her statement preparations. “It’s clip to bring our state together, floor plan a caller measurement forward.”

Trump, meanwhile, is eager to negatively style voters’ perceptions of his Democratic rival and halt nan gains she has made since ascending to nan apical of nan Democratic summons successful July. Harris has eliminated what for overmuch of nan twelvemonth had been Trump’s lead complete Biden successful statesmanlike polling.

Both Harris and Trump are offering themselves arsenic alteration agents of sorts. Harris has sounded herself arsenic a cleanable break from a bitterly divisive era of authorities dominated by Trump. The erstwhile president, though, points to Harris’ clip successful nan Biden management and says she bears nan blasted for inflation, higher owe rates and more.

Trump’s run and his friends person accused Harris of avoiding argumentation particulars. But Trump’s incoherent reply past week to a mobility astir really he would make kid attraction much affordable was a vivid reminder that nan erstwhile president has agelong brushed speech argumentation specifications and questions astir nan practicality of his proposals.

Trump has besides lobbed racist and lewd attacks against Harris, including falsely claiming successful July that she “happened to move Black” a fewer years agone (she’s nan girl of Indian and Jamaican immigrants) and sharing connected societal media references to her erstwhile narration pinch onetime San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

Whether Trump makes akin comments — and really Harris responds — could style voters’ perceptions of their conflict Tuesday.

The debate, moderated by ABC anchors Linsey Davis and David Muir, is scheduled to past 90 minutes. Like nan CNN statement betwixt Trump and Biden successful June, candidates’ microphones will beryllium turned connected erstwhile it’s their move to speak and muted otherwise.

Those rules — agreed to by nan Biden and Trump campaigns — person disappointment Harris, who hoped to pat into her skills arsenic a erstwhile charismatic during immoderate onstage engagements pinch Trump.

“Vice President Harris, a erstwhile prosecutor, will beryllium fundamentally disadvantaged by this format, which will service to shield Donald Trump from nonstop exchanges pinch nan Vice President. We fishy this is nan superior logic for his campaign’s insistence connected muted microphones,” nan Harris run said Wednesday successful a missive to ABC News agreeing to nan debate.

Tight title successful cardinal plaything states

The statement comes conscionable earlier early voting originates successful respective cardinal states. Polls person shown a tight title nationally and successful cardinal battlegrounds — including nan “blue wall” of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, arsenic good arsenic nan Sun Belt states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

Both campaigns person paid peculiar attraction to Pennsylvania and Georgia, wherever caller CNN polling recovered nary clear leader betwixt nan candidates. Should Trump clasp North Carolina, a authorities he’s won twice, victories successful Pennsylvania and Georgia could push him past nan 270 electoral ballot period moreover if he does not triumph immoderate of nan different battleground states.

Harris sewage a jolt of bully news precocious past week, erstwhile her run announced it had pulled successful almost triple her Republican rival’s fundraising haul successful August — $361 cardinal to Trump’s $130 cardinal — entering September pinch $404 cardinal successful rate reserves for nan last two-month sprint to November. That sum acold surpasses nan $295 cardinal Trump’s governmental cognition says it has successful nan bank.

A Sunday New York Times/Siena College poll, however, underscored nan value of nan conflict complete defining Harris. The survey, which showed nan 2 candidates astir evenly matched nationally, suggested that a sizable stock of voters still request much accusation astir nan vice president: 28% of apt voters said they consciousness for illustration they request to study much astir Harris, while conscionable 9% said nan aforesaid astir Trump.

The canvass besides offered immoderate imaginable warnings for Harris. While 61% of apt voters said they thought nan adjacent president should correspond a “major change” from Biden, conscionable 25% said they thought Harris represented specified a change, while 53% said Trump did.

The aforesaid canvass recovered that 47% of apt voters recovered Harris excessively liberal, contempt her attempts to mean successful caller weeks, compared pinch 32% who said Trump is excessively conservative.

Pittsburgh statement camp

The 2 candidates person taken drastically different approaches to preparing for their Tuesday showdown.

No statesmanlike nominee successful nan modern property has done much televised wide predetermination debates than Trump. Harris and her squad person been cautiously studying each six of them — 3 pinch Hillary Clinton successful 2016, 2 pinch Biden successful 2020, and different pinch Biden successful June — arsenic she prepares for her move onstage.

Harris has spent nan days starring up to nan statement hunkered down pinch aides astatine a edifice successful Pittsburgh, making only occasional, little nationalist appearances. But aides said she has been reasoning astir a statement pinch Trump since nan infinitesimal Biden ended his bid for reelection successful precocious July.

“I deliberation nan voters merit to spot nan divided surface that exists successful this title connected a statement stage,” Harris told reporters past month. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

She’s been reference briefing papers astir Trump’s comments, positions and moreover nan insults he’s directed astatine her, aides said, arsenic good arsenic familiarizing herself pinch really Trump comported himself pinch his 2 erstwhile Democratic opponents, peculiarly Clinton.

Harris has spoken extensively to some Clinton and Biden astir debating Trump, hoping to use from their experiences.

And she began telegraphing her attack to Trump moreover earlier her information became official, telling a crowd successful Atlanta successful precocious July: “If you’ve sewage thing to say, opportunity it to my face.”

A strategy for Harris, aides said, is not only to guidelines up to nan erstwhile president, but to make nan lawsuit that it’s clip for nan state to move beyond nan Trump era. Any of his taunts connected title are expected to beryllium diminished and dismissed arsenic nan “same old, tired playbook,” arsenic Harris said during her sit-down question and reply pinch CNN past month.

While galore candidates person outwardly bristled astatine statement preparations, aides said Harris is digging into nan believe sessions pinch mock debates against a Trump stand-in, longtime Clinton adjutant Philippe Reines, and preparing for illustration she did during her years arsenic a prosecutor.

Karen Dunn, a Washington lawyer who has helped Democratic candidates hole for debates for much than a decade, is moving nan believe sessions for Harris. Dunn, who worked pinch Clinton up of her encounters pinch Trump successful 2016, sewage to cognize Harris erstwhile she prepared her to look Vice President Mike Pence successful 2020.

“Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking. I’m speaking,” Harris said astatine 1 constituent during that debate, delivering a statement that could beryllium reprised connected Tuesday if she is faced pinch immoderate interruptions. “If you don’t mind letting maine finish, we tin person a conversation. OK? OK.”

Trump’s informal approach

In caller days Trump has ribbed Harris complete her preparations and claimed that his statement capacity won’t get a adjacent review.

“If I destruct her successful nan debate, they’ll say, ‘Trump suffered a humiliating conclusion tonight,’” nan erstwhile president said astatine a Saturday run rally successful Mosinee, Wisconsin.

Trump, who based on he doesn’t request general mentation specified arsenic mock debates, has been gathering pinch elder advisers, argumentation experts and extracurricular friends to fresh himself for Tuesday.

The “policy discussions” — nan Trump campaign’s type of statement prep — mostly reflector those nan erstwhile president held successful nan weeks starring up to his June 27 statement pinch Biden, sources acquainted pinch nan meetings told CNN.

Trump elder advisor Jason Miller has been handling nan meetings, which person included sessions pinch erstwhile Trump management charismatic Stephen Miller, Trump run argumentation advisor Vincent Haley, and erstwhile Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, among others.

The sessions person mostly focused connected helping Trump sharpen his messaging connected a scope of issues, from nan system to migration and American populist astatine large.

The Trump run besides deliberately scheduled a slate of events successful nan days starring up to nan debate, specified arsenic past week’s argumentation reside to nan Economic Club of New York and his municipality hallway pinch Fox News, successful an effort to person him hone his messaging successful public, his advisers said.

People adjacent to Trump reason 1 of nan astir important aspects of his Tuesday matchup pinch Harris is ensuring nan erstwhile president does not look overly fierce toward her and strikes nan correct tone. As pinch his June 27 statement pinch Biden, Trump’s advisers and friends person been encouraging him to look much restrained while onstage.

However, galore privately admit that will beryllium moreover much important this time. Not only is Harris a much celebrated campaigner than Biden was then, but she is besides a woman, and nan optics of peculiar attacks will resonate differently, they say.

Gabbard, who precocious endorsed Trump, has been a cardinal subordinate successful that effort. The Hawaii Independent was among nan 2020 Democratic statesmanlike contenders who challenged Harris connected nan statement stage. She has been moving pinch Trump to thief him amended understand Harris’ statement style.

Trump’s advisers judge Gabbard’s attacks connected nan then-California legislator — peculiarly nan scrutiny of her grounds arsenic a charismatic — helped undermine Harris’ candidacy successful 2019.

The erstwhile president’s squad has told him to specifically needle Harris connected nan issues wherever she has changed her position.

“We want to support him steered toward hitting her record. On fracking, connected her flip flops, and show that she is conscionable arsenic responsible for nan Biden administration’s grounded policies arsenic Biden is,” 1 advisor said.

Those helping Trump hole person besides directed him to attraction his answers connected nan halfway argumentation issues wherever he polls higher than Harris, specified arsenic nan economy, migration and crime, sources acquainted pinch nan meetings said.

“The astir important portion is uncovering pivots, uncovering ways to beryllium captious of her, deflecting attacks from her,” a elder Trump advisor told CNN. “It’s not astir her interrupting him aliases really she’ll act. It’s astir him being connected target connected his responses connected policy. That’s been nan main focus.”

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Democratic vice statesmanlike campaigner Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks during a debate, Oct. 7, 2020, successful Salt Lake City, left, and Republican statesmanlike campaigner erstwhile President Donald Trump speaks during a debate, June 27, 2024, successful Atlanta. | Associated Press