KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — At the intersection of Cumberland Avenue and Volunteer Boulevard, hundreds of students raced to class while chatting about class projects and internship opportunities. At the intersection, WBIR spoke with students about what they expected to happen at Tuesday night's presidential debate about 600 miles away in Philadelphia.
John Knighton, a sophomore, said he thought the event would define the rest of the race.
"That's the number one thing you'd always hear, 'Well, Trump, he's not a nice person, he's mean,'" Knighton said. "Kamala's campaign has done a really great job with branding, I won't deny that. They say, 'Look, we got the young face, we're the party of the youth.' They're trying to win that back because they saw the youth starting to slide to more tradition, more conservatism."
He said he supports Trump, though the former president wasn't his favorite candidate. He said he wanted either Vivek Ramaswamy or Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to be the Republican candidate.
"She hasn't laid out a lot of her policies in general, and Trump has kind of brought the party back from the conservative side of the party more towards a moderate approach," Knighton said.
Nathan Schroder, another student, said he'll be focused on what both candidates say about combating rising prices.
"A lot of people that I know, and a lot of my friends, they don't really want to spend as much compared to what we would've wanted to do, like, four years ago," Schroder said.
He said he hasn't paid close attention to Trump's campaign, but he said he sees similarities between Harris' "guns blazing" approach to rally Democratic voters and Trump's support among Republicans.
"It's really a turnout thing for both parties," he said.
The campaign has been combative. Knighton and other students WBIR spoke to said they won't be surprised if the debate becomes chippy. Schroder took a glass-half-full perspective.
"You know, I'm happy for the rules that were put in place for the debate. So, I think as long as the two candidates abide by those rules, then it can be a very positive debate and productive," he said.
The students WBIR spoke to said issues like abortion, immigration and the economy were on their minds.