Vice President Kamala Harris came ready to play in the ABC presidential debate — and appeared to have learned some lessons about how the debate split screen can help or hurt candidates.
When it wasn’t her turn to speak, Harris often kept her gaze fixed on her debate opponent, former President Donald Trump.
She also modulated her facial expressions — giving Trump some serious side-eye and looking thoroughly unimpressed when he made claims she disagreed with.
ABC News
She also made it a point to play to the split-screen, sometimes outright laughing at a visibly angry Trump.
ABC News
At one point, when Trump claimed that Harris’ father was a “Marxist professor,” she broke out into a wide smile and laughed.
Users on X were quick to comment on the expressions, with new memes sprouting up less than 30 minutes into the debate.
Harris’ face game distinctly differs from President Joe Biden’s performance during his June debate with Trump.
During that debate, Biden’s vacant, slack-jawed facial expressions sparked a barrage of memes on social media.
“It wasn’t the President’s finest hour. He primarily played into his opponent’s accusations of weakness, and people often view a leader’s speaking performance as shorthand for their leadership style,” Paul Falzon, a Singapore-based public speaking and presentation coach with 20 years of experience, told BI at the time.
Biden’s vacant looks were also mocked for being a “resting 25th Amendment face” by “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart.
“I’m not a political expert, but while Biden was preparing at Camp David for a week, did anyone mention he would also be on camera on a split screen?” the “Late Daily Show” host said in an episode in June.
For what it’s worth, the split-screen format has also helped candidates, including Biden, in the past. In 2020, Biden managed to draw a sharp — and positive — contrast between himself and Trump.
Representatives for Trump and Harris did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
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