MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
When Kamala Harris ran for president five years ago, there was a moment from her first debate that ignited enthusiasm for her campaign.
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VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: And that little girl was me.
KELLY: Harris was attacking her then-opponent, Joe Biden, for his record on busing and working with segregationists. It was a highlight for Harris, one of many she has had in debates over her career. NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram has this look back as Harris gears up for her debate next week against former President Donald Trump.
DEEPA SHIVARAM, BYLINE: Back in 2003, Kamala Harris was running her first political race for district attorney of San Francisco. She was facing off against two other Democratic candidates who were far more well-known, and she needed a standout moment. Here's Rebecca Prozan, who was Harris' campaign manager at the time.
REBECCA PROZAN: We were the underdog. We were running up the middle. San Franciscans didn't know her as well as they knew the others. And coming with the background she came from, she had to outdo both, and not just outdo them, she had to mop the floor with them.
SHIVARAM: There were at least a dozen debates in that primary, and in one of them, Harris was asked about San Francisco's mayor, Willie Brown, who she had previously dated. But Harris pivoted. She called out both of her opponents for their attacks on each other. One of them had been caught in a massage parlor, for example. And then Harris walked to stand between the two candidates, and she said her campaign would be about the issues. The audience loved it, and it boosted Harris through her run, says Prozan.
PROZAN: These moments help with fundraising. They help with emails. They help with, like, on-the-street, like, word of mouth.
SHIVARAM: As she moved further into her California political career, Harris had more debates that helped put her on the map. When she ran for attorney general in 2009, the margins were razor thin. But then came this question for her opponent, Steve Cooley, who was the district attorney of Los Angeles.
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JACK LEONARD: Do you plan to double-dip by taking both a pension and your salary as attorney general?
STEVE COOLEY: Yes, I do. I earned it. Thirty-eight years of public service, I definitely earned whatever pension rights I have. And I will certainly rely upon that to supplement the very low - incredibly low salary that's paid to the state attorney general.
SHIVARAM: The moderator then asked Harris if she wanted to respond. She said just four words.
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HARRIS: Go for it, Steve.
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SHIVARAM: Harris' campaign took advantage of the moment and painted Cooley as out of touch. Her retort wasn't something that was rehearsed, says former Harris adviser Jill Habig. It was the kind of gut reaction that Harris honed during her time as a courtroom prosecutor.
JILL HABIG: Lots of unpredictable things happened during a trial. You can have your materials prepared, but a witness could say anything.
SHIVARAM: Habig also says that some of Harris' most memorable moments have come when facial expressions said more than words could; like, for example, when her opponent in her Senate primary race inexplicably dabbed at the end of her closing remarks. Harris just stared at her wide-eyed in surprise - or when she raised eyebrows at former Vice President Mike Pence, a facial expression that was viral enough for Maya Rudolph to recreate on "Saturday Night Live."
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MAYA RUDOLPH: (As Kamala Harris) I'd like to hear the vice president's response. And while he speaks, I'm going to smile at him like I'm in a T.J. Maxx and a white lady asked me if I work here.
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SHIVARAM: More than just laughs, Habig says Harris' quick wit could help in a debate against Trump, a candidate who is known to be unpredictable. But in addition to responding to her opponent on stage, Harris will still need to make her own case to voters, and she'll have only eight weeks left to do it.
Deepa Shivaram, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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