Analysis: 4 key moments from the Harris-Trump debate

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

60% : Because Trump is such a familiar figure -- and because views of him are so fixed -- there's little left for him to say or do to change how voters see him, one way or the other.
49% : Moments later, after defensively claiming that "we have the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics," Trump suddenly started ranting about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, "eating the pets of the people that live there" -- a claim that has no basis in reality.
49% : Trump ambled slowly in from the wings, heading for his podium; Harris went directly to Trump and initiated a handshake that he seemed to want to avoid.
48% : What Trump really needed to do Tuesday night was change how voters see Harris -- or let Harris do the job herself.
42% : But more important than what Harris told viewers about Trump -- all of which they've heard before, and largely learned to tune out -- was what she managed to show them: How easily he can be baited into losing control.
40% : Instead, Trump allowed his opponent to project precisely the kind of presidential, forward-looking positivity she wanted to project -- without provoking any of the meandering, word-salad responses that have caused her problems in the past.
32% : "No, "she's the one ... that's weak," Trump sputtered in response.
31% : One issue to rule them all ... at least for TrumpForced to play defense for much of the debate, Trump instinctively retreated to his comfort zone: immigration.
29% : But what about when the debate turned to other issues -- like, say, abortion?There, Trump claimed that overturning Roe v. Wade and allowing states to ban the procedure was "what everybody wanted -- Democrats, Republicans and everybody else" (despite polls showing otherwise).
28% : With less than two months to go until Election Day -- and no other debates on the calendar -- Tuesday could have been the last best chance for Harris and Trump to shake things up before voters start casting their ballots.
28% : Again and again, she set traps for Trump; again and again, he walked right into them.
28% : And what was striking about Tuesday's debate between Trump and Harris, aside from the words they said, was how differently they acted toward each other -- and to the audience.
27% : Trump has some plans too (or "concepts of a plan," as he put it when asked what he would replace Obamacare with).
25% : Trump has been running on the border for years, and he's not about to stop now.
24% : Trump avoids 'her' while Harris addresses 'you'Presidential debates aren't collegiate point-scoring affairs; they're usually won or lost on vibes and moments rather than wonkery.
18% : It showed Tuesday night.To be sure, Harris used her time on stage to "prosecute the case" against Trump, as expected, criticizing his positions on taxes, abortion, the border, Jan. 6, Ukraine, Obamacare and so on.
18% : Trump only referred to his rival as the "vice president" once: to call her the "worst vice president in the history of our country."
15% : In contrast, Harris called Trump the "former president" more than a dozen times -- and when she wasn't referring to Trump by his title, she was looking right at him and addressing him as "you.
10% : But while Trump accused Harris Tuesday of simply copying Biden's agenda -- "She IS Biden," he snapped -- he actually ceded the "policy" card to her by returning to the border so many times and saying so little of substance elsewhere.

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