Kamala Harris reveals the tactics she expects Trump to use from his debate ‘playbook’ as campaign makes plans to rile him

Kamala Harris indicated she is prepared for Donald Trump to “lie” during the debate, expecting him to use his “old, worn-out playbook” when they meet on Tuesday.

“He’s been playing this really old, worn-out playbook,” she told the Rick Smiley radio show, “where there’s no bottom for him in terms of how low he’s going to go and we should be prepared for that. And we should be prepared for the fact that he’s not burdened with the truth.

“I think he’s going to lie,” she added in the interview that aired Monday. “He has a playbook that he’s used in the past, whether it’s his attacks on President Obama or Hillary Clinton. So we should expect some of that to come out.”

Harris has been busy for the past five days preparing for the debate, which will take place on Tuesday. The debate is set to be one of the most-watched moments of the 2024 presidential campaign.

Much has changed in politics since the first presidential debate in June: Trump survived an assassination attempt, Joe Biden dropped out of the race and Harris won the Democratic Party nomination.

Now, polls show the race between Trump and Harris is effectively tied. And in many swing states, early voting begins in the days after the debate, increasing pressure on the candidates to get their message across to voters.

Harris said she wants to emphasize during the debate that Trump “tends to fight for himself, not for the American people. I think that will come across during the debate.”

While holding practice sessions, her campaign deployed every possible tactic to rile Trump.

That includes a new ad set to air Tuesday — the day of the debate — in which former Trump administration officials criticize him and say he is unfit to occupy the White House.

The ad features former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, former National Security Advisor John Bolton and retired general and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.

The ad was compiled based on their public comments warning of the dangers of a second Trump presidency.

“In 2016, Donald Trump said he would choose only the best people to serve in his White House,” the ad’s narrator says. “Now those people have a warning for America: Trump is not fit to be president again.”

The ad will air on Fox News in Philadelphia, where the debate is taking place, and in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump lives.

In addition, Harris has received the support of several prominent Republicans: Liz Cheney, a former Wyoming congresswoman and Trump critic; her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney; and Jimmy McCain, the son of the late John McCain.

And former President George W. Bush said he would not issue an endorsement during the race, staying on the sidelines and not supporting his party’s nomination.

A group of 10 retired top U.S. military officials also endorsed Harris, writing in a letter that she is the only presidential candidate qualified to serve as commander in chief of the country.

They called Trump “a danger to our national security and democracy.”

Harris has spent the past five days mostly at a “debate camp” in a Pittsburgh hotel. She leaves for Philadelphia on Monday night. Trump is scheduled to arrive there on Tuesday, shortly before the debate begins.

The former president has been preparing for the debate by discussing his policies with aides during sessions at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J.

He also brought in Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. Gabbard, who ran for president on the Democratic side in 2020, upset Harris in the primary debates.

Trump also took to the stage to spin the debate after the debate, claiming the debate was “rigged” and against him.

At rallies and in social media posts, Trump has criticized ABC News, the network hosting the debate, for being biased against him.

“ABC is the worst network when it comes to honesty,” he told Sean Hannity in a recent Fox News sit-down. “They’re very mean.”

He accuses the network of giving Harris the questions in advance, without providing evidence.

“Do you think ABC is going to ask Kamala all the questions ahead of time? We already know her left wing media friends would do ANYTHING to keep her from being embarrassed the way Biden was!” Trump said in a fundraising appeal.

Tuesday’s debate will mark the first time Harris and Trump have met. Previously, they had only been in the same room together: Harris, as a senator, attended then-President Trump’s State of the Union addresses in the House chamber on Capitol Hill.

The event will air for 90 minutes at 9 p.m. ET from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis will moderate, and the debate will be broadcast across multiple platforms.

There will be no live audience present at the debate.

There is currently no other debate scheduled between the two candidates, although NBC News has offered to hold one on September 25.

Following the debate, Harris will join President Biden in New York, Shanksville and the Pentagon on Wednesday to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

She will campaign in North Carolina on Thursday and in Pennsylvania on Friday.

Trump’s campaign has not released a post-debate schedule.