Harris and Trump face major challenges, risks on Tuesday's presidential debate stage

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

50% : Trump has at times knocked leaned into that message, knocking her promises for "day one" by noting she's already been in office for almost four years serving a president facing severe disapproval ratings when he dropped out of the race.
36% : But Republicans urged Trump to hammer the connection.
34% : "Still, Trump has a proven penchant for veering off into unrelated attacks, whether it be against opponents or moderators -- a strategy that has helped him on the stump but one that could backfire on Tuesday.
28% : Harris, whose wave of momentum has brought Democrats back to a neck-and-neck presidential race, will have to prosecute the case against Trump while also laying out how her agenda could help the country -- particularly beleaguered middle- and working-class Americans.
28% : GOP operatives who spoke to ABC News said Trump should focus on policy contrasts, boasting that he has the edge on issues like inflation and immigration and can try to pin her down on her policy reversals on things like fracking - while he himself searches for consistent stances on issues like abortion.
27% : "I would ignore what are likely to be rude, disrespectful behaviors from Trump, and stay focused on the substance, because by doing so, it will further highlight for people just how disgusting his behavior can be," said the source close to Harris' team.Republicans, for their part, hope to avoid that scenario altogether.
20% : The showdown in Philadelphia is taking place months after the last debate ended President Joe Biden's reelection bid, sending Harris rushing to stand up an eleventh-hour campaign and Trump scrambling to figure out how to negatively define a new opponent voters are less familiar with.
20% : "Trump has sought to cast Harris as "dangerous" by painting her as a "California liberal" who was soft on crime and generally out of step, referencing her time as state attorney general and senator and relying on voters' perceptions of the progressive bastion to fill in the blanks.
16% : However, Harris is facing off against maybe the most unpredictable non-traditional figures in modern politics, and Trump is likely to throw in curveballs that could take the vice president off her talking points.
15% : Trump has already launched a fusillade of personal attacks, including questioning Harris' race and intelligence and highlighting vulgar suggestions about sexual acts.
9% : Trump, meanwhile, has the task of casting his record on the economy and immigration as superior to Harris' while avoiding distracting personal attacks on Harris.

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