Former President Donald Trump spent much of his first altercation with Vice President Kamala Harris leaning forward, hands on the lectern, brooding.
He would not look at Harris, even when making an emphatic point about her, instead pointing his finger over at his Democratic opponent without turning his head.
It was one of the most tangible signs that Harris was getting under Trump’s skin in their first debate, which started with Trump talking about one of his key campaign themes: the economy.
Harris at times tilted her head in disbelief, smiled incredulously and at one point looked right at Trump, putting her hand to her chin in an exaggerated gesture as though to convey she was listening to a tall tale. Her expression turned into an instant meme on social media.
The debate began with Harris walking across the stage and directly into Trump’s space, extending her arm for a handshake and introducing herself. Trump appeared surprised by the gesture. But it was an assertive move by Harris who, like other Democrats, had watched Trump use his physical heft in a 2016 debate against Hillary Clinton to project dominance.
Overall, Harris’ performance was a dramatic shift from what Democrats saw from President Joe Biden in the June debate, which was roundly panned as a disaster for him and set into motion a party revolt that saw Biden drop out of the 2024 election. Then, Biden looked off-camera repeatedly, appearing lost at times and sometimes struggling to complete a sentence.
It appeared Harris learned from that debate: that the cameras are always on and body language was a critical way to communicate with the audience.
On several other occasions, Harris made a point to look directly at the camera while delivering her answers. It was her attempt to try to emphasize the message that Trump is in for it for himself and she is attempting to turn the page.
