- With only weeks to pitch to undecided voters, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris sparred on Tuesday night in their first debate ahead of November’s presidential election.
- The 90-minute duel in Philadelphia was a pot-pourri of personal attacks, well-timed jabs and policy propositions.
Temitope Ajayi, senior special assistant to President Bola Tinubu on media and publicity, has described Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, as the “Nigerian version” of Donald Trump.
Trump, who is on a bid to reclaim the US presidency in November 2024, faced Kamala Harris in a debate.
On Tuesday, Trump and Kamala Harris, a presidential contender, clashed over pressing issues like abortion, immigration, economic policy, healthcare, and foreign relations.
A quick CNN poll of registered voters and betting markets crowned Harris the debate winner, with some analysts declaring she delivered a resounding defeat to the former president.
However, Ajayi observed on Wednesday that both Trump and Obi often employ negative rhetoric when describing the countries they hope to lead.
Ajayi’s statement, contained in a post on the X platform, praised Harris for outmaneuvering Trump and capitalizing on his vulnerabilities.
He noted that the debate exposed Trump’s weaknesses, stating the similarities between Obi and Trump’s tactics in appealing to their respective bases.
“Peter Obi is the Nigeria version of Donald Trump. Like Obi, Trump will use the most negative epithets imaginable to describe a country he wants to lead again just to make a point and rile up his base,” Ajayi wrote on X.
“Kamala Harris prosecuted Trump very well in their first face to face debate yesterday night. Kamala convincingly won the debate and left no one in doubt about his capacity.
“Vice President Harris knew Trump’s weakness and set traps for him. Trump fell for her baits. Both candidates have been fact-checked on their claims in the debate “While Harris was reported to have made just one incorrect claim, Trump made 33 false claims in the same 90 minutes debate.”