‘Trump is a pretty good debater’: Harris campaign spox warns not to ‘underestimate’ former president

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign senior spokesperson Adrienne Elrod on Monday warned against underestimating how former President Donald Trump will perform in their Tuesday debate.

Trump and Harris are set to participate in their only scheduled presidential debate on ABC News. Elrod said on “Morning Joe” that Trump’s skill and experience in presidential debates means the Harris campaign can’t afford to “underestimate” him.

“I think that she will certainly be holding Trump to account. But look, debates … can be challenging. And I think when you have Trump up there on the stage, spewing lies, saying things that are completely false, time and time again,” Elrod said. “When you are debating him, do you spend your time trying to fact-check him and hoping that the moderators will fact-check him, but if they don’t, do you spend time doing that or do you spend time talking to the American people directly about how you’re going to improve their lives? So I think you’re going to see her doing incredibly well in those moments.”

WATCH:

‘Trump Is A Pretty Good Debater’: Harris Campaign Spox Warns Not To ‘Underestimate’ Former President pic.twitter.com/Rrm5UxQM7R

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 9, 2024

“But look, I think we cannot underestimate the fact that Donald Trump is a pretty good debater. He’s done this seven times. He’s been preparing,” she added. “He beat Joe Biden, President Biden, in the debate in June. So I think he’s going to be prepared himself. But we’ll just see how it plays out.”

The Harris campaign on Wednesday accepted the Trump campaign’s request for muted microphone rules like the ones CNN implemented during the June 27 debate. Trump challenged Harris to two additional debates during an August press conference at Mar-a-Lago, but the ABC debate is the only one that is officially scheduled.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said on “The View” Friday that Harris should not “underestimate” Trump’s potential debate performance, noting “he is a skilled debater” and is experienced with television appearances.

Former CNN political analyst Chris Cilizza, meanwhile, said he thinks the ABC debate holds more significance for Harris than for Trump.

“I think she has more riding on it … Trump has a very high floor in terms of voter support and a very low ceiling, he basically moves between 46% and 48% of the vote,” Cillizza said. “He doesn’t go to 52% or 51%. He doesn’t go to 40%. So I don’t know how his numbers move. I think she has potentially more movement there.”

Newsmax political analyst Mark Halperin said Friday he anticipates Harris will perform well in the debate based on her previous face-offs.

“Some Republicans have been counting on her to screw up the debate … could happen, but I wouldn’t bet on it based on her past as a debater,” Halperin said.

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