Editorial: Swift showdown

“I stay out too late, got nothing in my brain, that's what people say, mm-mm.” It might be hard for Americans, as well as those following US politics, to unhear the lyrics to pop princess Taylor Swift's hit single Shake it Off, as they tuned into the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. The face-off between the Vice President and the former President of the US was being pitched as the first, and possibly the ultimate parley between the hopefuls for the Oval Office before the presidential elections this November. Team Harris, of course, had the unenviable task of wiping the slate clean of any mnemonics pertaining to the catastrophic showdown that transpired between President Biden and the billionaire a few months ago.

The debate threw up opportunities for both speakers to argue their cases for issues close to their heart, as well as lampoon the opponent for shortcomings that emerged in the course of their tenure. The trifecta of concerns that got top billing in the debate included foreign policy, economy and abortion. Harris, an attorney by qualification landed a decisive blow on Trump by calling out the backfooting on women's reproductive rights. It was the revoking of the Roe vs Wade judgement, that Harris weaponised when she referred to how Trump planned on signing a national abortion ban bill in the event of him being elected. Taking a stand for bodily autonomy of women, Harris emphasised that the freedom to make decisions about one’s own body, should not be made by the government.

While Harris resonated with women viewers with her arguments on reproductive rights, Trump opted to pull up the Vice President on a subject that has loomed dangerously close to his heart, and that of the MAGA brigade — immigration. Diving into the deep end of inanities, Trump leaned on his arsenal of misinformation to declare that illegal Haitian immigrants were stealing pets and turning cats and dogs into chow. He further lambasted the Biden administration and in turn Harris for doing nothing to stop the influx of millions of illegal immigrants who landed up on US borders over the past four years.

The two statesmen went on to trade barbs on internal affairs, including the state of the economy and wide ranging unemployment, with Trump channelling a sentiment reminiscent of the golden age of McCarthyism by referring to Harris as a Marxist, just like her professor father. Socialist pedigrees aside, the choicest accusations were saved for the two major wars plaguing the Western and Middle-Eastern worlds at the moment — the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict. In typical chest thumping fashion reminiscent of a silverback gorilla, the former reality TV star spoke about ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict, without clearly laying out his game plan to do so. Deflecting from a query on whether he wanted Ukraine to win played into the hands of the Democratic nominee who berated Trump for admiring dictators and demagogues.

While it’s hard to say that this debate alone could turn the tide of the American presidential elections, a post-parley flash poll revealed 63 per cent viewers felt the Democratic nominee had outperformed her rival. What seemed to be a minor cherry on the top for team Harris was a youthful endorsement that came from Taylor Swift, aka Childless Cat Lady who spoke in favour of being led by calm, and not chaos. As several Republicans turned Democrats or hero voters might say, ‘Amen to that.’