Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t have her microphone on to interrupt former President Trump during Tuesday’s presidential debate, but she did her best to show her visible disapproval of what he was saying.
As Trump spoke, Harris attempted to react with an amused smile, staring at the ceiling in exasperation, smiling and shaking her head and taking careful notes.
At one point, Harris uttered the words “that’s not true,” and when Trump started talking about her being a “Marxist,” Harris rested her chin on her hand with a bemused smile.
When Trump spoke about abortion, Harris narrowed her eyes and said out loud, “That’s not true,” though her comment was not picked up on the microphone.
Harris’s reactions prompted comments from political consultants on social media.
Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris reacted visibly on camera to protest a series of statements by Trump
Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris listens to Donald Trump speak with a smirk on her face
“Harris smiles when she talks about Trump being impeached, which gives her a bad impression,” wrote pollster Frank Luntz on X.com. “She’s feeding the narrative that it’s all a partisan witch hunt.”
Later in the debate, Harris resorted to vocally protesting some of Trump’s statements, despite her microphone being muted.
The White House press corps was present in the debate room, allowing them to publicly report what Harris was saying and doing while Trump was speaking.
Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris takes notes during the presidential debate
The debate rules set by the Biden campaign included a provision that the opponent’s microphone must be muted when the candidate was answering a question.
Harris’s campaign made a big deal about leaving both microphones on, believing she would have the upper hand if she wanted to interrupt or fact-check Trump while he was speaking.
But in the end ABC News insisted that the rules of the debate be set as negotiated.
Trump eventually mocked Harris for trying to interrupt him while he was speaking.
