AP Photo/Alex Brandon
I wrote earlier about how Kamala Harris was trying to plan for a viral, unscripted moment in her debate with former President Donald Trump. If that sounds oxymoronic, you would be right. How can you plan for an "unscripted moment." But that tells you everything you need to know about Harris — it's all scripted, and nothing is natural, even something as simple and inconsequential as that.
She was allegedly even scripting how to shake hands with Trump, as I reported. That's pretty bizarre.
So when it came finally as the debate started, she just looked silly, chasing him down on the stage.
I think the point was she thought it made her look strong or like she was confronting him. But instead, it just looked like she was desperate to shake his hand, and frankly, it looked weird.
Pro tip? When you have to walk to someone like that, they are the superior. So that didn't go off well.
She ended up sounding like she was rehashing talking points over and over again, but then she wasn't answering the questions. When even Frank Luntz is calling you out for not answering, it may just be obvious to everyone.
She sounded rattled at points, but she had the assistance of the moderators; they were clearly in the tank for her, so it wasn't as fair as the CNN debate was. She kept making weird faces, and it wasn't a good look.
Trump had another funny moment early on, which was maybe one of the funniest moments so far. She reportedly was trying to have that viral "I'm talking" moment, according to reports about her planning. But he scooped her on that when, instead, he dropped that on her, and it may have been the line of the night, as she tried to make noises over him, although her mic was supposed to be muted.
People enjoyed that one, especially when, with Trump going there, if she was planning it, she no longer could use it.