THE BUZZ: DEBATE DAY — Since becoming California attorney general, Kamala Harris has risen through the ranks of the Democratic party to achieve the second-highest office in the nation. The Republican she beat out for the job remains unimpressed. All eyes are on the VP tonight as she takes on former President Donald Trump for the first time on a debate stage. She’s been holed up in Pennsylvania the last several days for debate prep, readying herself for muted mics and trying to avoid repeating the mistakes of the 2020 primary. Steve Cooley, who ran against Harris for California attorney general in 2010, was the first Republican that Harris faced on a televised debate stage. Cooley narrowly lost the race to Harris after a remark he made during the debate that he intended to collect an existing state pension and the “very low” six-figure AG salary if he won. In the moment, Harris stood back and let the response speak for itself: “Go for it Steve,” she said. “You earned it.” But that flub would end up being broadcasted by her campaign across LA televisions and is credited as part of the late push that helped her secure victory. Now, Cooley is suggesting Trump do much of the same — let Harris’ performance speak for itself. “It’ll be obvious that she’s inept, but let her show that,” the Los Angeles resident said in an interview. “He doesn't need to say it. Let her show it. It's kind of like the thing with Biden — he didn't need to say, ‘Hey, you're dementia-ridden and you don't know what's going on.'" Trump was unusually reserved during the career-ending debate with President Joe Biden. He may have a harder time showing similar restraint with a first-time debate partner whose rapid rise in the polls has scrambled his campaign. His team is already worrying about his perception among women, and hoping he doesn't make things worse tonight when he squares off against a female candidate. Harris’ campaign did not return a request for comment. This has been edited for length and clarity. What would you tell Trump as he heads into the debate with Harris? She’ll be prepared in the sense that she'll have some set memorized lines, but she is not capable, in my view, of any kind of serious critical thinking. If she does not have a teleprompter or notes in front of her, she will stumble and fumble and bumble. What he has to do is not personalize it, just let her demonstrate how inept she is. He doesn't need to point out the obvious. What are her greatest weaknesses when it comes to policy issues? Obviously, the border is a complete unadulterated disaster of biblical proportions. That is the fault of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and, more importantly, the people pulling their strings. She does not know economics at all. She just doesn't. And Trump, based upon his experience as a business person, is pretty familiar with the terminology and what words mean. And she will be weak in that arena, which is a weak policy issue for them too. The economy's not in terrific shape, and it was in pretty good shape under Trump. Afghanistan, and the “I was the last person in the room” thing. Does she really want to take credit for that disaster? It was an ill-planned, poorly executed, disaster. So she wants to say she's the last person in the room, inviting what happened, and she can take credit for it. Do you think Harris’ career as a prosecutor will give her a leg up in the debate? She wasn't a very good prosecutor. And whether she was a prosecutor in terms of her employment or not, I don't think she developed the skills to think on her feet. I don't think she was much of a trial lawyer or much of a trial prosecutor, from what I've heard from others who did know her. So I don't think she has those skills. Are there any potential pitfalls Trump should try to sidestep? He does not need to state the obvious. It'll be obvious that she's inept, but let her show that. He doesn't need to say it. Let her show it. It's kind of like the thing with Biden — he didn't need to say, “Hey, you're dementia-ridden and you don't know what's going on.” It was obvious. Just let it happen. GOOD MORNING. Happy Tuesday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. You can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? In Pennsylvania on the campaign trail for Harris. He’ll be popping by CBS this morning before more stops in the state.
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