Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have proven adept at avoiding questions they don’t want to answer. The former president does it by burying questioners under a barrage of unrelated claims, many of them false. The vice president does it the old-fashioned way, by taking refuge in vague arguments.
If they manage to duck and weave their way through Tuesday's debate, it will be a real loss for voters, especially undecided voters in key states that will decide the election.
The 90-minute session will likely be the only time Americans will see the two candidates on the same stage. On the surface, it will be a discussion of contrasting policies, but underneath it will be an equally important test of the candidates' temperament and ability to think on their feet.
But getting candidates to answer questions directly in the allotted time is harder than it sounds. I’ve been there: I was a panelist in the primary debates between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2008, and between George W. Bush and John S. McCain in 2000. I learned the hard way that broad, open-ended questions allow politicians to respond with campaign slogans or change the subject entirely.
Yes-or-no questions, questions that ask for details, and questions that confront candidates with their inconsistencies are more likely to elicit useful responses.
Here are some questions Tuesday's moderators, ABC News' David Muir and Linsey Davis, should have on their list:
QUESTIONS FOR TRUMP
Electoral violence
The big question for Trump is not about policy, but whether he will encourage his supporters to resort to violence if he loses, as they did on January 6, 2021. Trump has refused to commit to accepting the election result and says he believes Democrats can only win if they cheat. Asked whether this year’s campaign could lead to violence, he said: “It depends. It always depends on the fairness of the election.”
Here is a question that follows those statements:
In a debate with Joe Biden in 2020, he was asked if he had a message for extremist militias. He told the far-right Proud Boys to “stand by and stand by.” Three months later, they stormed the Capitol and you He praised them as patriots.
Would you like to take this opportunity to tell your followers that violence has no place in our political system?
Abortion
You have taken credit for the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe vs. Wade and said states should decide their abortion laws.
But He has also said that Florida law prohibits abortion. After six weeks of pregnancy, before most women know they are pregnant, it is too severe.
Since the Supreme Court's decision, 14 states have banned abortion in almost all circumstances. Five of those states ban abortion with no exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or risk to the mother's health. Do you agree with that? Would you do anything to protect women's reproductive freedom in those states?
Climate change
Scientists say we just experienced the hottest summer on record. Phoenix has endured sweltering heat for more than 100 days with temperatures topping 100 degrees.
But you have said that climate change is a hoax. In an interview two weeks ago, you said that people who worry about climate change are “fools” and that it is just about “climate.”
Do you think? climate change Is it a serious problem? When you've been asked that before, you've said you're in favor of clean air and clean water, but that's not the question. As president, what would you do to protect us against increasing climate change?
Child care
Last week in New York you were I asked him what he would do to reduce the cost of child care.You said: “It’s a very important issue… Childcare is childcare… You have to have it… So we will take care of it.”
That seemed pretty vague, so here's a chance for what golfers call a mulligan: Do you know how much child care costs these days? And what specifically would you do to reduce those costs?
Rates
You have insisted that increase in import tariffs China’s tariffs won’t raise costs for American consumers, but when tariffs were raised on washing machines in 2019, their prices rose by nearly $100, according to the conservative Heritage Foundation. Prices rose not only for washing machines imported from China but also for machines made in the United States.
Consumers ended up paying more. Why will this time be different?
QUESTIONS FOR HARRIS
'Turn the page'?
The big question for Harris, who is trying to hold together President Biden’s political coalition while promising to “turn the page,” is whether a Harris presidency would be different from a second Biden term. Here are two ways to approach that question (and it will likely take two tries):
You’ve spent the last four years promoting Joe Biden’s policies, but now you’re promising “a new way forward.” Aside from your name at the top of the list, what’s new?
A follow-up: Can you name any issues on which you disagreed with Biden? Are there any decisions the Biden administration made that you wish had been different?
Mandates on electric vehicles
In 2019, you supported a mandate to require automakers to stop producing gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. Last week, your campaign told Axios that it does not support any type of mandate for electric vehicles.
Why did he change his stance? Did he change his mind about the policy or is he simply trying to improve his chances of winning the votes of autoworkers in states like Michigan?
Immigration
In 2019, you said you were in favor of decriminalizing unauthorized border crossings, making them a civil offense rather than a criminal offense. In your interview with CNN last month, you said you had changed your stance and now believe unauthorized crossings should have a “consequence.”
What did he mean by that? What consequences should migrants or asylum seekers face if they cross the border without authorization?
Price speculation
Last month, you blamed high food prices on corporate “price gouging” and proposed federal measures to end it. Would your plan apply to current prices or only in the event of a national emergency?
Would the sanctions be applied automatically or would the plan simply empower the Federal Trade Commission to investigate potential cases?
QUESTIONS FOR BOTH
Social Security and Medicare
Both Social Security and Medicare are headed for serious financial trouble in about 10 years. The longer we put off fixing them, the harder it will be. What concrete steps would you take to strengthen Social Security and Medicare and ensure that they remain available to people in their 40s and 50s today and in retirement?
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza
The latest War between Israel and Hamas has lasted 11 months and claimed more than 41,000 Palestinian lives in Gaza, according to health officials there.
What would you do specifically in your first 100 days in office to end the war? Tell us at least three concrete measures you would take.
The war in Ukraine
Russia invaded Ukraine two and a half years ago. What national interest does the United States have in this war?
What specific actions would you take to help bring the war to an honorable end?
Would you continue to finance and supply Ukraine? Would you put pressure on Ukraine to give up territory that Russia has occupied?
What are the chances of getting answers?
Will the candidates be able to answer all these questions clearly and concisely?
Not a chance.
Moderators will have their work cut out for them simply trying to keep the debate orderly — no easy task, as Trump has demonstrated in previous debates.
But if they can get clear answers to one or two questions, they will have done their job and given voters new and useful information in choosing the next president of the United States.
