Confident Kamala Harris knocks down Donald Trump

The second US presidential debate offered ample hints at how the race for the White House has changed in just two months as an aggressive Vice President Kamala Harris managed to get under her rival Donald Trump's skin, hammering him over his criminal convictions, his views on abortion rights and the size of his rallies.

Harris's debate performance is being seen by experts as a major win for Democrats after President Joe Biden dropped out following his miserable performance in the June debate. Buoyed by her performance, Harris called for a second debate even as Trump remained non-committal.

On June 28, shortly after Joe Biden and Donald Trump faced off in a Presidential debate for the high-stakes US election, many concluded that the fight was over even before it began. As the 81-year-old US President lost his train of thought multiple times while speaking on critical subjects, his 78-year-old predecessor and opponent mocked his confusion.

Cut to September 11, Trump faced a different Democrat presidential candidate. And this time, he was the older one and by a much larger margin. At 59, Vice-President Kamala Harris is nearly two decades younger and she did not miss an opportunity to drive this point home, albeit in a subtle manner. "What I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country," she said.

As the debate began, the vice president of Indian origin pulled no punches. On multiple occasions, she managed to get under Trump's skin, setting him off on rants his team would not be happy about. She targeted him over his convictions in criminal cases, his administration's handling of the Covid pandemic, and his image on the global scene. The tables had turned. In the earlier debate, Biden had struggled to counter Trump's attacks on his policies, this time Harris' messaging was crisp and Trump appeared to be defensive.

At the beginning of the debate, responding to a question on the US economy and cost of living, Harris spoke of her middle-class background and plans to support families and small businesses if elected to the top post. Targeting Trump, she said he would provide tax cuts to "billionaires and big corporations". "Donald Trump has no plan for you," she said.

Trump responded with a personal attack. "She's a Marxist - everybody knows she's a Marxist. Her father's a Marxist professor in economics, and he taught her well," he said.

As Trump targeted Harris over the Biden administration's immigration policies, she responded sharply, "You're going to hear from the same old tired playbook, a bunch of lies, grievances, and name-calling." A key moment in the debate was when Trump rattled out a social media conspiracy theory that immigrants are eating pets.

"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in, are eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what's happening in our country," he said. Harris' microphone was off, but she was seen laughing and mouthing "what?".

Another sharp response was when Harris, speaking about the Ukraine war, said that "Putin would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe" if Trump was President. She also said Putin "would eat you for lunch".

A key challenge Harris faced going into this debate was Team Trump's push to tie her to the Biden administration's failure. Harris, however, responded by stressing that she represents a new generation of leadership and that it's time to "turn the page".

"I'm clearly not Joe Biden and certainly not Donald Trump. And what I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country, one who believes in what is possible. One who brings a sense of optimism about what we can do instead of always disparaging the American people," she said.

At another point, she said, "You have heard tonight, two very different visions for this country. One that is focused on the future and one that is focused on the past."

She also managed to irk Trump by saying that world leaders laughed at him and said, "You are a disgrace". Trump responded by citing close ties with Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban and that he has said Trump should return as President. The reference to Orban, known for restrictions on immigration and gay rights, was widely seen as Trump's continuing admiration of autocratic leaders.

The debate did see several of Harris' punches land well. The November election is still likely to be a close contest, but the Democrats have without doubt made a comeback from where they were during the June 28 Biden vs Trump debate.