WASHINGTON, SEPT 11- In a crowded entertainment center in the US capital, last night’s debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris may have been mistaken for a boxing match.
A crowd of mostly young professionals began to fill the center before the show began.
“Come on, let’s start!,” someone shouted amid cheers as the TV showed the two candidates taking the stage.
As Harris prepared to make his first statement, silence fell over most of the Democratic supporters at the center. There were no thunderous cheers after he finished presenting his list of promises.
Trump, on the other hand, made the audience laugh when he began his speech on a starkly contrasting note, attacking Harris harshly and quickly turning to false statements about the economy and immigration.
The first cheers were heard when Harris slammed Trump for his actions during the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, which is not far from the entertainment center.
People have been waiting for a debate like this for a long time, something that President Joe Biden was unable to do during his debate against Trump last June.
Anthony, 26, an onlooker told AFP saying Biden’s performance in the last debate was like, “watching an old dog beaten with a stick.” Instead this time, Harris “performed more coherently,” as he and Trump were both “much faster.”
Meanwhile Remy Salinas, a lifelong Republican supporter, said he ‘felt sad’ for Biden during the June debate. This time, he hoped Trump as a key negotiator should be more ‘calm’ during the debate against Harris.
But it was clear the 78-year-old billionaire made a different decision, repeatedly raising his voice and looking angry throughout.
Salinas admitted Trump ‘slipped up a few times’, and ‘took the bait’ when he was attacked by Harris, but the vice president was ‘standing firm’ in his view.
After the debate ended, a group of women in their mid-20s at the center unanimously said Harris was clearly the winner.
Shannon, 23, a federal government employee, said Harris’s debate performance excited her. “For sure, I definitely feel better”, he said. It was a ‘messy’ Trump performance compared to the more ‘polished’ Harris, he added.
Her friend Olivia, 24, a non-professional worker, agreed, saying Harris had given her renewed enthusiasm for the election.
“You don’t just vote for someone because you have to, but because you really want to vote,” he said. – AFP
