Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in the US Presidential Debate, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 10, 2024

I joined international outlets on Wednesday to analyze the first and perhaps only Presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

I explain how Harris exceeded even the most hopeful Democratic expectations by being strong and “Presidential”, controlling the narrative, highlighting key issues, and setting out Trump’s threat to the US system.

Trump also exceeded expectations, but in a far different ways: rambling, lying, and descending into political madness with declarations such as “immigrants eat your pets”.

And I consider the post-debate development: a ringing endorsement for Harris from a “Childless Cat Lady”, Taylor Swift.

Watch Ireland’s Tonight Show from 26:25

A 30-minute panel on the debate, its significance, and why Taylor Swift matters — the other participants are Trump’s White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Harry Browne of Technological University Dublin, and Saoirse Hanley of the Irish Independent, and the host is Ciara Doherty.

An extract from the discussion:

Watch Al Jazeera English

In an 8-minute chat, I lay out the debate and its consequences for host Cyril Vanier.

The question is: even though this is a clear win for Harris, how much does it move the needle on undecided voters over the next 2 1/2 months?

To consider the possibilities, I look at the two factors that will determine the outcome and summarize, “I think the ceiling is higher for Harris. While this is a toss-up election, this gives the momentum to Harris going into November.”

I am asked which question I would have put to each of the candidates and whether being scripted matters, before summarizing:

Before July 21, when Joe Biden dropped out of the race, the keys to the White House had been handed to a convicted felon.

Those keys have been taken away from Donald Trump. They haven’t been given to Kamala Harris yet, but she made a good case why she should be the person moving into the White House next January.

Watch ABC News Australia From 4:03

Speaking with Yvonne Yong, I reflect on Harris’s success:

She was a bit nervous to start off, but then — and I think this is a tribute to Harris’s team — they have worked with her to appear confident but not trying to bully Trump, looking at him but then looking at the moderators.

I think she did that very, very well. Trump, on the other hand, was Trump: lips pursed, scowl on his face.

The Harris team had prepared the lines that would trigger him. And when they triggered him, he went off into Crazy Uncle mode.

Listen to Times Radio’s World in 10 Podcast

I consider the foreign policy section of the debate, explaining how Trump’s response on Ukraine — refusing to answer if he would support Kyiv’s resistance of the 30 1/2-month Russian invasion — indicates that, as President, he would enable Vladimir Putin’s attempt to conquer part of the country.

Where I think the issue of Trump and Putin lands politically is the broader issue of Trump favoring dictators and autocrat over allies.

Who is it he praises and who is it he denigrates?

See also Ukraine War, Day 931: Trump Refuses to Support Kyiv v. Russia’s Invasion

I also look at Israel and Gaza, with Trump offering no coherence and Harris limited by the primary obstacle to a ceasefire: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Watch GB News

An extract from my interview with the hard-right UK outlet GB News, as it struggles to maintain support for Trump amid his falsehoods and Harris’s assured performance.

There has been no established case of anyone’s pet — dog, cat, gerbil, duck — being eaten by an immigrant.

Donald Trump has stuck himself with a line which will become one of ridicule.