Harris on offence against Trump during U.S. presidential debate

Walking onto the debate stage on Tuesday night, Vice-President Kamala Harris strode over to former president Donald Trump and reached out for a handshake. It was the first time the two presidential candidates had met face to face — at a debate or otherwise.

Harris, 59, spent the next 90-odd minutes firmly on the offensive, goading Trump with jabs about his felony conviction, the size of crowds at his rallies and his reputation among world leaders.

A rattled Trump, 78, often took the bait and spent more time defending his own record than challenging his opponent. His defence included a litany of falsehoods, personal attacks and debunked misinformation — likely exactly as his opponent had hoped.

"Harris dominated," said Georgia Kernell, an assistant political science professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who specializes in political communication. 

"I think, actually, Trump hurt himself as much as she helped herself."

The stakes were high for both candidates, but the debate was Harris's best opportunity to define her candidacy and appeal to undecided voters in what polls show to be a tight race for the White House. (Her performance earned a boost from one voter in singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who endorsed Harris to her 283 million Instagram followers almost immediately after the debate ended on ABC.)

For Trump,