Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg attempted to taper debate expectations for Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday morning as she prepares to face former President Donald Trump onstage this coming week.

Harris and Trump will meet Tuesday night for debate which could be the only time voters hear from the vice president before the election. On Sunday’s State of the Union on CNN, Buttigieg was asked by network anchor Dana Bash about how Harris could help voters learn more about her policy positions.

Bash noted a Sunday morning New York Times/Sienna poll found Harris trailing Trump nationally among likely voters.

She noted Harris is still a relative unknown for many voters and asked Buttigieg, “What does she need to do at the debate to fill in those blanks?” The 2020 Democratic presdieintal candiate responded:

Well, I think the main task will be to make sure Americans understand the difference in visions and are reminded that they already agree with her on the issues that matter most to them. But that’s going to be challenging. I competed with her for the Democratic nomination and I had the honor of being involved in her debate preparations against Mike Pence. She is a very focused and disciplined leader. But it will take almost superhuman focus and discipline to deal with Donald Trump in a debate. It’s no ordinary proposition.

Not because Donald Trump is a master of explaining policy ideas and how they’re going to make people better off. It’s because he’s a master of taking any form or format that is on television and turning it into a show that is all about him. But the less we’re talking about him and the more we’re talking about you, the better it’s going to be for the vice president because she has laid out an agenda – things like making sure that our tax code is fair and protecting a woman’s right to choose that is, of course, the opposite of Donald Trump’s agenda, which has been around tax cuts for the wealthy and his record of destroying the right to choose. It’s again an extremely challenging task in the face of all of the distraction. Whatever outrageous things he does and says, because they will require a response. And yet you can’t allow him to change the subject from the difference between his very unpopular set of policies and record and her vision for Americans’ future.

Trump and Harris will face off at 9 p.m. ET on ABC News Tuesday for a 90-minute debate.

Watch above via CNN.

The post Buttigieg Tries to Crater Expectations for Harris Ahead of Trump Debate, Says VP Needs ‘Superhuman Focus and Discipline’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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