We're now counting down the hours to the debate between former President Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
We've heard about some of her fits in regard to the details of the debate. For example, she didn't want to have muted mics because she wanted to be able to have a moment where she could say, "I'm talking" in the face of a Trump interruption. But she didn't get that. It also sounded like she was getting nervous and freaking out as they talked about strategy sessions going "sideways."
Maybe she should have spent a little more time being concerned about her policies and communicating them to the American people? Her team blew off CNN when they asked about some of her radical positions — they refused to answer. Not a good look going into the debate.
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But that wasn't all. As it turns out, there was one more thing that the Harris team was concerned about: the size of the podium.
So ABC is giving her a shorter podium, so when they do a split screen, Harris and Trump will appear the same size in relation to the podium.
New: Harris and Trump have one of the biggest height differences among presidential nominees in U.S. history
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) September 10, 2024
Tonight, Harris will have a shorter podium as part of the split screen optics, per a person familiar and some ABC News footagehttps://t.co/oiBTJRVx6a pic.twitter.com/1V4hDw1kZL
Other presidential candidates have been worried about looking small in debates compared to their taller opponents.
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) September 10, 2024
In 1988, former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis (5 foot 9) was worried about his stature against then-Vice President George H.W. Bush, who was 6 foot 2. pic.twitter.com/Syk1kNtdM6
She's obviously trying to avoid a "Mike Dukakis" moment of looking silly. We're likely to see the difference in the podiums if there's a long shot of the stage or a combo shot of them both together without a split screen. So, I think it's just as likely to backfire and could make her look sillier. Is that equality or equity? She may find out that the podium doesn't matter when the responses are empty.
The news got some mocking from a Trump official and people on X.
The Trump campaign official told Axios that "it looks like the kids' table at Thanksgiving."
They are so insecure https://t.co/lN5wII0Zx7
— Luke Rudkowski (@Lukewearechange) September 10, 2024
There is NOTHING authentic about the left https://t.co/3zdFDpfyJu
— NukemDuke88 🇺🇸🇻🇪 (@NukenDuke88) September 10, 2024
Harris undoubtedly is going to try to drop a viral moment on Trump, probably about felon convictions or Project 2025, but he dealt with those before with Biden.
But however Trump responds, trust Harris and the media to try to make something he says into "He's mean to women/racist" and play victim. Meanwhile, the media will likely say she did well, no matter how badly she does, and will probably call her the winner no matter what.
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