The expectations were very different for the two candidates for president standing on the debate stage Tuesday night. One had to look presidential, reassure Democrats and convince Republican, independent and undecided voters she was capable of doing the job. And she had to do this while explaining the details of every policy position and why she may have changed her mind about any one of them throughout her personal and political life.

Oh, and she had to be charming.

The other had to avoid lashing out, calling his opponent offensive epithets or passing out on the stage.

That is only a slight exaggeration.

So, what happened?

For one thing, the stereotype of the “angry Black woman” was upended. Instead, there was an angry, 78-year-old white man on the stage. Donald Trump claimed that President Joe Biden “hates” Vice President Kamala Harris and that Harris “hates” Israel.

But the only sentiment that was made crystal clear at the first presidential debate between the current Democratic and Republican candidates was that Trump hates Harris.

He could hardly look at her.

Maybe he just hates the idea of her — an accomplished and intelligent American woman of Black and South Asian descent who doesn’t need a lift in her shoes or a step stool to tower above him, figuratively speaking.

Unfortunately, he is not alone.

Before the debate, Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas had predicted on social media that Trump would put Harris “in her place” on live TV, using a phrase that trails racist and sexist intent, the go-to for those who want to belittle someone they think is beneath them.

Trump has called her “dumb as a rock” and “lazy,” questioned her identity and trafficked in crude sexualized slurs.

But from the moment that Harris strode across the stage, shook a reluctant Trump’s hand and introduced herself as “Kamala Harris,” correcting his mocking mispronunciation, she was in charge and her opponent off base.

Her comment about his rallies and crowds that leave “out of exhaustion and boredom” truly set him off, making him toss out any coaching by handlers to stay calm. He snapped at every bit of bait she dangled and exposed the Trump that too many voters in the “United States of Amnesia” had forgotten.

Trump ran from any responsibility for the chaos of Jan. 6, 2021, and repeated lies about Haitian immigrants in Ohio stealing and eating family pets. (In the real world, the influx of new residents has strained city services for now, but an official in a family-owned business in Springfield praised them, telling The New York Times, “They come to work every day. They don’t cause drama. They’re on time.”)

When given the chance by the ABC moderators to back off from his disproven claims of a 2020 victory, Trump doubled down, unable to let his ego-driven fantasies go.

Yet Harris is still the underdog, and I expect the polls to be close from now until November. When she tells ebullient rally-goers that there is a lot of hard work to do, Harris means it. Anyone familiar with history and human nature in this country knows her warning to be true.

That’s because the strength and competence she showed — had to show — to be taken seriously as a presidential candidate, even one with a record of achievement in city, state and federal office, is sure to be seen as both rebuke and threat to Americans who would never consider voting for her.

For some, she couldn’t win.

In the same way President Barack Obama’s stress-free cool triggered enough people to pave the way for a Donald Trump as a perfect vessel of grievance, resentment and fear of a changing America (remember, Obama never got the majority of the white vote), the dominating performance by Harris will make some uncomfortable with her and with what she represents.

Seeing her put “in her place” was the wish of those Ronny Jackson and his ilk were speaking to. “Make America Great Again” is the mantra for those who yearn for an America that never was. No wonder that as innocuous a counter-phrase as “We Are Not Going Back” from Kamala Harris gives the insecure the willies. For those who dread a return to a not-long-ago America where citizens of color were locked out of those beautiful suburbs Trump references in speeches, no wonder her slogan offers hope.

I get it — and have gotten it — though the Oval Office was never in my hopes or dreams and I admit I’ve never had to deal with the white-hot spotlight that drenches Vice President Harris’ every waking moment.

As an African American woman, I understand the lofty expectations paired with a wish for failure that others may harbor when you rise. It’s the experience of many Black women who have had to walk that tightrope — be excellent, but don’t show it. And, above all, make the folks around you comfortable.

Don’t you know, it’s sometimes really difficult to hold that smile.

Harris is aware. On Tuesday, she could never be too angry at the ranting man mere feet away. But boy did she know how to make those subtle and not-so-subtle digs, sprinkling them like gems throughout her policy statements.

It was Trump who unleashed spittle-flecked rage.

As expected, post-debate, the Trump team and the candidate himself blamed the moderators, the same ones who allowed Trump to repeatedly run overtime in his rambling rebuttals. The blame-the-ref defense was hardly convincing coming from the only person on the stage with presidential debate experience.

The sad reality is that Trump doesn’t have to make much sense to his followers, especially the white Christian evangelicals who ignore his serial commandment-breaking. Maybe they have the most to lose in a country where they no longer get to set the rules for the rest of us true-blue Americans.

Yes, on Tuesday night, Harris — despite the pressure — clearly did what she had to do. However, I don’t doubt there will be more tests and higher bars set for the person who did not bark “they’re eating the pets” to millions of voters.

In a country where more than a few are waiting for someone to put her “in her place” so they can feel comfortable in their own, Kamala Harris remains the underdog.

Mary C. Curtis has worked at The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Charlotte Observer, as national correspondent for Politics Daily, and is a senior facilitator with The OpEd Project. She is host of the CQ Roll Call “Equal Time with Mary C. Curtis” podcast. Follow her on X @mcurtisnc3.