Vice President Kamala Harris wiped the floor with former President Donald Trump at that debate. It started with her aggressive pursuit of a handshake and continued with the trap she set by talking about his obsession with crowd sizes. He never regained control.
All that being said, debate performances alone don’t win elections. Just ask John Kerry or Hillary Clinton, who both won all of their debates and did not win their elections. But debates can help differentiate candidates and motivate voters.
On Tuesday night, the key exchange, at least in my opinion, centered around abortion rights.
After Trump boldly claimed he “did a great service” in overturning Roe v. Wade, Harris had this to say:
"You want to talk about this is what people wanted, pregnant women who wanted a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because the health care providers are afraid they might go to jail, and she’s bleeding out in a car in the parking lot. She didn’t want that. Her husband didn’t want that a 12- or 13-year old survivor of incest being forced to carry a pregnancy to term. They don’t want that."
She was direct, passionate and made the impact of abortion bans specific and personal.
Trump, meanwhile, failed to commit to vetoing an abortion ban.
There were a lot of spicy moments in this debate. But that exchange showed where Harris and Trump stand on an issue that could be a key motivator of turnout, if not voter behavior.
If I were Team Harris, I would make sure Trump doesn’t forget it.
Read more exclusive insights from Jen Psaki here. And tune into "Inside with Jen Psaki" Mondays at 8 p.m. ET, and Sundays at 12 p.m. ET on MSNBC.
