Sri Lankan Candidates Chicken Out of Debate
While the Sri Lankan presidential candidates ducked their first-ever live debate, the two U.S. presidential candidates have been eagerly preparing for the upcoming debate for days. Dilith Jayaweera was the only candidate brave enough to keep his promise and participate in the live televised debate. Although candidates Sajith Premadasa, Namal Rajapaksa, and P. Ariyanethiran had confirmed their participation, they all seemed to have backed out at the last minute for reasons only known to them.
Though as it happened in Sri Lanka that way, Tens of millions of Americans will tune in live on Tuesday, the 10th, to see how Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump handle their first head-to-head encounter on the debate stage.
The pair will go head-to-head in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, just 75 days after Joe Biden’s poor performance against Trump triggered a political earthquake that ultimately forced him out of the race for the White House.
Preparation for the Debate
According to media reports, Kamala Harris has been camped out at a Pittsburgh hotel for several days preparing for the debate, engaging in highly choreographed practice sessions ahead of Tuesday night’s clash. The setup includes a stage with replica TV lighting and an adviser fully immersed in method acting, not just portraying Donald J. Trump but embodying him, complete with a boxy suit and a long tie. Donald Trump is being peppered informally by aides. Both sides share the same belief about why the debate is so crucial, unlike the Sri Lankan candidates.
Prosecutor vs. Convicted Criminal
It will be a study in contrasts in terms of age, gender, race, temperament, and policy. Additionally, it will mark the first time in U.S. presidential history that a former courtroom prosecutor will debate a convicted criminal with the White House at stake.
Vice-President Harris, the Democratic nominee, has served as a trial lawyer, district attorney and state attorney general in California. Former US president Donald Trump, her Republican rival, has been convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal.
But Trump has his last best chance to end Harris’s extended “honeymoon” while the Democrat is aiming to prosecute her opponent’s glaring liabilities before tens of millions of voters watching on live television.
A Question for Sri Lankan Voters
How can Sri Lankans expect a ‘system change’ with politicians like these who are scared of that change?
