ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are facing off tonight in Philadelphia, and the stakes couldn't be much higher. A new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll shows 7 in 10 Americans plan to tune into the debate, and nearly a third say what they see tonight will help them decide how to vote. NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez is here to talk about the risks and rewards of what could be the most decisive moment of the election. Hey, Franco.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Hey, Ari.
SHAPIRO: I've just finished talking about how high the stakes are. And there's one more thing. This might be the only debate between these two candidates. So what do each of them need to accomplish tonight?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, that's right. I mean, tonight is their first face-to-face meeting, and there are no other presidential debates on the calendar. I mean, this is really more of a critical moment for Harris than Trump, though. I mean, she is still looking to define herself in the eyes of voters before Trump does that. So many voters still don't know much about her, and they're seeking to learn more. I mean, it's perhaps the biggest stage of her political career. And despite that wave of energy and momentum that she's unleashed over the last month, that her campaign has unleashed, this race is still very much tied.
SHAPIRO: So if Harris' task is to define herself for voters, what is Trump's task tonight?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, Trump's task - I mean, I will say that it is no secret that he is a very polarizing figure. Of course, most everyone knows who he is. There is really little that he can do or say that is going to surprise many people. That said, he doesn't really want to remind voters why he is so polarizing. So I think the bigger goal for Trump is to kind of continue to try to define Harris on his terms versus instead of hers.
SHAPIRO: You know, to that point, Trump has had one opponent for nearly eight years now, but the departure of Biden and the entrance of Harris has upended his campaign strategy. How might that factor into tonight's debate?
ORDOÑEZ: I think it could. I mean, it's safe to assume that the dynamics will be very much different from that debate. Trump, of course, is going to be Trump. But Harris is much younger than Trump or Biden. She has more energy. She is less likely to struggle when Trump attacks her. And as a former prosecutor, she can hold Trump to account in ways that Biden couldn't. She can talk back to his, you know, mistruths.
Also, similar to the last debate highlighted - how it highlighted Biden's age, this debate has the potential to highlight Trump's age. You know, he's only a few years younger than Biden, and he's been giving some rambling speeches that have gained more scrutiny since Biden left the scene, or the campaign at least. I mean, if Trump fails to answer some questions, if he goes off on tangents like he sometimes does, this debate could lead to more scrutiny about his age and his fitness for the office, especially since so much of this debate could be consumed in small clips on social media.
SHAPIRO: OK, so the age is one big difference. Another big difference is that Harris is a woman. She is a woman of color. And that also presents a challenge for Trump. You've reported on this.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, it really does. Trump has struggled with women in power. You know, when you talk about Trump's debating style, a lot of people think about Trump and Biden's first debate four years ago. But when I speak with women about Trump's debating style, they point to another time when he debated Hillary Clinton eight years ago. That was the time where he was kind of looming over her as she spoke. He talked about putting her in jail. This has the opportunity to be a big gender gap in the race, and that's going to be at play today.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Franco Ordoñez. Thank you.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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