Remember, everybody thought the last debate was going to be a cakewalk for Biden. All he had to do was show up and not look like a sundowning dementia patient. And look how that turned out.

Harris may be able to “handle it” in that he’s not going to get her all worked up where she’ll break down and cry or something. But will she be able to hold her own on the debate floor? She is untested in that realm and her rally speeches show that she’s still not the most confident public speaker, and I could see a situation where Trump just doesn’t allow her to get a word in edgewise. Even if he says nothing but his usual incoherent word salads, if he can essentially bully her into silence by just throwing her off with his usual interruptions, firehoses of lies, and shouting down her responses, it could bolster his strongman persona, play to his mysoginist base by “putting her in her place”, and give some independent voters the impression that she can’t keep up.

Like I said, Harris hasn’t been tested. Arguing in a courtroom is one thing when there’s a judge who can keep the opposition in check and has the ability to enforce it. It’s different when it’s moderators who are toothless and can’t or won’t do anything about Trump who doesn’t give a shit about the rules at all. And her continuing uneasiness when she gives rally speeches in front of friendly crowds makes me wonder how she’ll handle someone who’s game plan is literally to make her look like she belongs back in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant.

Harris’ game plan right from the beginning is that he goes to the debate and just lashes out. That’s why she wanted the open mics. But like I said before, Biden got the debate he wanted on his terms and it ended up ending his campaign. Hopefully Harris isn’t making the same mistake.