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00:00Well, for some reaction to last night's debate, we can bring in Allison Prash, an associate
00:04professor of rhetoric, politics, and culture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Thank you so
00:08much for taking the time to speak with us today. I wanted to start with your overall reaction to
00:13last night's debate. As someone who studies presidential rhetoric, what stood out to you?
00:21I think the thing that stood out first and foremost to me was the fact that this is really
00:25Kamala Harris's debate that she could either do really well or also come away and having
00:32left voters wondering who she was and what she stood for. And I think more than anything,
00:37I was impressed by her ability to connect some policy proposals with more personal anecdotes
00:43and connect stories that might connect with voters to things that are important to her,
00:48such as thinking about abortion, for example. And I think overall, as you noted in the intro,
00:54widely perceived to be the victor in this debate. I think Trump was himself,
01:00and Kamala Harris came out and demonstrated strength and courage and charisma in a way that
01:06was a refreshing opposite really to Trump. Yeah, you described them as opposites. How
01:12would you kind of characterize each of their different rhetorical styles?
01:17Well, I think Trump did what he's always done. He was combative. He was abrasive. He really relied
01:22on some well-worn phrases that I think he thinks will speak to his base. Thinking about, for
01:28example, calling immigrants the problem facing the country that if Kamala Harris is elected,
01:35will become like Venezuela, for example. Whereas Harris, I think she really embodies what her
01:41campaign has been talking about as this joyful, happy warrior. She was very, very poised and
01:49willing to push Trump on some issues, but she also infused the debate with laughter.
01:55And to be clear, a lot of that laughter was at Trump on some of the things that he said.
02:00But I think if you look at both of these candidates in this split screen that we
02:04all experienced this debate through, you see someone who is combative and brash,
02:08and someone who is one to speak about substantive policy issues in a way that can connect with
02:14voters. You mentioned that famous split screen. Kamala Harris' facial expressions in particular
02:19have generated a lot of reaction online. One commentator suggested that she should train
02:24her face not to respond since she risks offending undecided voters. But then a lot of people
02:29disagreed with that and said that that was a sexist analysis. What do you think about Kamala
02:34Harris and her body language? Well, I think Kamala Harris was responding in the moment to
02:40things that her opponent said. I think we all use body language in various ways, and I think she
02:46happens to be expressive. You know, I think the same should be said of Donald Trump in the fact
02:52that there were a number of times where he was, you know, narrowing his eyes or smirking. I think
02:57it is true that as we watch the debate, we pay as much or if not more attention to facial expressions,
03:04to things that are said, you know, when the mics are supposed to be off versus the actual words.
03:08And so that gives us something about the stage presence. I think it remains to be seen if that's
03:14going to be a deciding factor for voters. I think if people are tuning in and watching and trying to
03:19listen to the two choices in front of them, I'm not sure if the facial expressions are going to
03:23be the thing that really tips the needle, but perhaps how the candidates are talking about
03:28issues and why they should be the next president of the United States. And as you've mentioned,
03:33Donald Trump has a very distinctive communication style that hasn't really
03:37changed his rambling sort of speeches, his hyperbolic falsehoods.
03:41Do you think it's still as effective as it was back in 2016?
03:47I think Trump is able to speak to a base, people who attend his rallies, for example,
03:52who are loyal Trump fans that are wanting to hear him say those dog whistle phrases,
04:00for example, in terms of reaching the undecided voter, which I think both candidates really needed
04:06to do last night. And they need to continue focusing on over the course of this campaign
04:10over the next 55 days. I don't know if his abrasive style is going to convince voters,
04:16particularly because we know that U.S. voters are very tired of the divisive political process
04:22and the system. And Trump has dominated that since 2016. I think Kamala Harris last night
04:28did a better job at saying to the audience, there's a place for you in this party, in voting
04:34for me, talking specifically about January 6th. She talked about individuals who are Republicans
04:39who are supporting her. She talked about the late, great John McCain, senator from Arizona.
04:44And so I think she made better overtures to reach those undecided voters.
04:49But again, it remains to be seen what's going to happen in the election.
04:52Absolutely. Alison Frasch, thank you so much again for your analysis today. That's Alison Frasch,
04:57an associate professor of rhetoric, politics, and culture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
05:03Thanks.