The historic Trump-Harris confrontation could turn the tide, will the veteran businessman's advantage make a difference?

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will face off on the debate stage tonight (US time), exactly eight weeks before their official confrontation on the ballot. Commentators say these are “critical moments that could turn the 2024 race around.”

US Election 2024: Can the historic Harris-Trump confrontation turn the tide? (Source: Getty Images)

The debate, held in Philadelphia and starting at 9:00 a.m. ET, is the first time the vice president and former president have met in person.

Business Insider commented that this is a high-risk confrontation for the former President, because the appearance of Ms. Harris seems to have turned what once seemed like a certain victory for Mr. Trump into essentially an even battle.

Meanwhile, participating in the debate seems to give Ms. Harris momentum as Mr. Trump has struggled to mount a clear attack, having lost ground since incumbent President Biden dropped out of the race and announced his support for his “right-hand man.”

A new Times/Siena poll shows Donald Trump has a one-point advantage over Kamal Harris among likely voters. Election forecaster Nate Silver says Trump is the slight favorite to win the Electoral College, making him closer to victory.

So what are the candidates’ plans? Polls consistently show that American voters now consider the “health” of the economy to be the biggest issue in the election.

Of course, for former President Trump, the only thing that can be focused on is the economy, as it is considered the top priority of voters, his strength and also Ms. Harris's weakness.

The latest Times poll shows that Mr. Trump (55%) has a big advantage over Ms. Harris (42%) on who would be better able to handle and steer the economy, a gap of up to 13 percentage points between the two candidates.

A Wall Street Journal poll in late August also showed Mr. Trump with an advantage of about 8 percentage points when voters were asked who would handle the economy best. He also led by 5 points on who would handle inflation better.

Former President Trump's margins look pretty good, but they're far from the 20-point advantage he held over President Joe Biden on both issues late last year.

Despite the positive economic results of the past few months, Americans are generally unenthusiastic about the way the Biden administration, with Ms. Harris serving as vice president, is operating. Most American voters believe that Ms. Harris is partly responsible for rising prices, problems arising from the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan, and problems at the US southwest border.

Before the debate, American media commentators, in typical Trump fashion, were “prepared” for some criticism of their opponent. Trump was likely to target Ms. Harris’s biggest “weaknesses” — calling her recent shifts in opinion unreliable and insincere .

Harris, meanwhile, will seek to establish and emphasize some of her own economic plans. The vice president recently added a series of policy positions to her campaign website that show her willingness to break with the current administration on some major issues.

For example, Ms. Harris has proposed giving up to $25,000 to first-time homebuyers, a potential $50,000 tax credit for small business owners and even disagreed with President Biden by proposing an income tax rate of just 28% for those earning at least $1 million — lower than the 39.6% proposed by the White House.

However, according to the US media, for some Americans, especially those on Wall Street, the constant "war" between the Republican and Democratic parties has become more of a "headache" than anything else.

There are plenty of outspoken advocates in the U.S. financial industry — and pledges to donate — to both sides. But for some private equity investors and hedge fund managers, joining the fray simply means spending less time managing their own money.

As some in Silicon Valley feel, the constant debate over the US election has left some feeling frustrated, especially at a time when so many businesses and startups are struggling.

Of course, it is the prerogative of the American voter to support one side or choose to "not care", but that does not mean everyone in the technology and finance industries is indifferent to this highly influential election.

Given the above results, both US presidential candidates want to make a difference in this debate. Politico commented that after a sweet political "honeymoon", Ms. Harris's momentum has slowed down but has not stopped completely. As for Mr. Trump, despite a month and a half of being considered a disaster, the former US President still showed formidable perseverance.

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