She is either an unproven entity who 'can't speak,' or a well-prepared contender poised to 'crush' her opponent on stage. Voters are assessing the situation ahead of the first US presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
A large television audience is anticipated to tune in on Tuesday to witness Democrat Harris, the current US vice-president, face off against Republican former president Trump. Both candidates are labeling this election as the most crucial in modern history.
AFP has interviewed several American voters on the campaign trail, and unsurprisingly, most believe their party's nominee will triumph in the head-to-head confrontation. They are eager to hear discussions on policy and values, but will also be scrutinizing their style, composure, and presidential demeanor.
'I think Trump definitely has the edge,' said Flo Eberhart, a 73-year-old retiree from Pennsylvania's Cambria County, at the ex-president's recent rally in her state. Harris 'doesn't know anything, basically, about what's going on. She can't talk.'
The vice-president and former California attorney-general and US senator is, in fact, an experienced debater. Although she hasn't participated in such a showdown in four years, she received accolades for her sharp attacks during her 2020 presidential campaign, including against her now-boss Joe Biden.
As for Trump, 'he's going to be absolutely fine,' Eberhart said. 'There's not one topic that Trump doesn't know something about.'
Jamila Scales, a young Harris supporter from Nashua, New Hampshire, who attended the Democrat's rally in nearby North Hampton on Wednesday, believes Harris is more than capable of holding her own against Trump. 'She's going to do well, she is going to efficiently destroy him,' Scales smiled. 'I can't wait. I really cannot,' she said of the debate. 'I believe it's going to be an excellent day in America.'
Trump is notorious for his bluster and aggression on the debate stage. But Trump supporter Jimmy Taggart, a retired jack of all trades from Pennsylvania, suggested a different approach in dealing with Harris. 'All he has to do is keep quiet and she'll hang herself, because she has nothing to go on,' Taggart said. 'She did nothing for three and a half years' as vice president.
Remaining passive is not Trump's style. He is relentlessly combative in debates, and was a looming presence behind Hillary Clinton in 2016, prowling the stage as the former secretary of state answered questions.
But Kate Thompson, a woman at the New Hampshire rally, cautioned against trying to intimidate Harris, a former prosecutor who has famously said: 'I know Donald Trump's type.' 'I think that Kamala Harris will show up prepared, ready to articulate her values and her positions,' Thompson said. 'And I don't think she'll let him push her around.'
Kirk McKendree, a 54-year-old former state trooper from Altoona, Pennsylvania, said he wanted Trump to be disciplined and allow debate viewers to ponder the question: Were they better off four years ago, 'before Biden took office?' 'He can address that we were in a much better place,' McKendree said.
And while Harris may be a generation younger than Biden, and more energetic than the current president, 'I don't look at her as a threat,' he added.
