Analysis | What we're watching tonight in Philadelphia

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

63% : Harris's rise in the polls is over for now, while Trump holds steady.
53% : As Trump looms, Ukraine turns to its evangelicals to woo the Republicans.
44% : Just 9 percent say the same about Trump.
44% : "Democrats question Trump's promise to oil magnatesThe top Democrats on three committees are asking top executives in the oil and gas industry to provide answers to their inquiries about reporting that Trump agreed to favorable tax and regulatory policies if they donated $1 billion to his reelection efforts.
40% : Our colleagues broke the news in May of the meeting at Mar-a-Lago when Trump made the offer to the oil executives.
40% : Trump will arrive in Philadelphia for tonight's debate at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
38% : House Democrats are already framing the GOP proposal to fund the government as one that could pave the way to instituting Project 2025 if Trump regains the White House and Republicans control the Senate.
31% : Will they get any clarity tonight, or will Trump remain ambiguous?
31% : The joint letters by Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (Ore.), Budget Committee Chair Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) and House Oversight ranking Democrat Jamie Raskin (Md.) say that previous calls with and letters from the executives did not address their questions and did not refute allegations that the industry has been writing self-serving policy proposals for Trump to enact should he win.
28% : "I have to believe she'll be well-prepped, but I think Trump doesn't like to debate heavy on policy," Short said.
27% : "So I think it's a vulnerability [for Trump] if she's able to show a greater command of national policy and national security issues.
27% : "We don't know where we'll be until at some point later on this year."Asked whether a Speaker Jeffries would stick to his assertion that the American people are over Trump like an "ex-boyfriend" and move past investigating the former president in a House Democratic majority, Jeffries simply said, "Seems to me that the majority of the American people are done with former president Donald Trump, and that will be ratified in November.
27% : As Debate Looms, Trump Is Now the One Facing Questions About Age and Capacity.
26% : "What we're watchingLeigh Ann is watching how Trump addresses abortion.
25% : If Harris takes a more restrained tone, Trump will need to be more disciplined as well to avoid looking overly combative, he said.Donna Brazile, a Democratic operative who managed Al Gore's campaign in 2000, said she's watching whether Harris can "own the future.
24% : "The MediaMust reads:From The Post:What Kamala Harris learned from embracing, abandoning Medicare-for-all.
23% : "Asked tough questions, Trump immediately got angry and defensive and pivoted to the stunning, false claim that Harris only identified as Black later in life.
22% : Implicit in that is a sense that the 'new way' will be different from the current way, with a key unanswered question: How?"Ashley Parker is watching Trump: "Will he be his own worst enemy on the debate stage, reminding voters of everything they don't like about him and his behavior, or can he maintain a modicum of self-control for the 90 minutes of the debate?""I keep thinking back to his sit-down with three Black, female journalists this summer," Hannah Knowles tells us.
22% : Trump has taken numerous positions on the issue over the past few months, probably causing confusion for voters.
21% : Adam Green, a co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, is watching whether Harris can bait Trump into fighting her on favorable terrain.
18% : "More coverage of tonight's debate:What Harris, Trump need to do to win Tuesday's presidential debate.
17% : "Marc Short, a former top adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, who debated Harris in 2020, is watching whether Harris seems more prepared than Trump.
14% : Many people viewed that as a politically damaging moment for Trump, and they wonder if Harris might be able to provoke a similar, unflattering reaction.
14% : Trump accused Biden of behaving "like a Palestinian" during their debate in June -- and "nobody responded or even attempted to defend Palestinians," Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn, Mich., a city with an Arab American majority in a crucial swing state, told us in July.
7% : "Many of Harris's followers hope Harris the prosecutor obliterates Trump the felon, but Harris has an uneven record under the brightest lights, and there's plenty of room for error," Cleve tells us.
3% : Here's what they told us:What operatives are watchingDave Urban, a Republican lobbyist and informal adviser to Trump, is watching how aggressive Trump is toward Harris -- and vice versa.

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