Who is Philippe Reines? All about the man role-playing Donald Trump for Kamala Harris during her debate prep

US Vice President Kamala Harris was spotted at a mock presidential debate against Philippe Reines, who role-played as her opponent Donald Trump at Howard University on September 2, 2024. The VP is preparing for her first face-to-face meeting with Republican candidate Donald Trump for their debate on September 10, 2024.

The debate, scheduled for telecast on ABC News, will be Trump's second since the June debate against President Joe Biden, and Harris's first. According to Reuters, Harris is looking to draw attention to Trump's lies, including his belief that the 2020 election was rigged.

Philippe Reines reprised his role as Donald Trump's stand-in, a position he previously held during Hillary Clinton's preparatory debate sessions during the 2016 election as her longtime advisor.

According to The Washinton Post, Reines approached the role with the intensity of a method actor, wearing knee pads to straighten his legs and shoes with three-inch heels to match Trump's height.

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Philippe Reines held many roles in Hillary Clinton's political team

Born in 1969, New York native Philippe Reines graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor's degree in political science. He started his political career in Al Gore's rapid response team during his 2000 presidential campaign. He was also Gore's teaching assistant at Columbia University and provided material when the former VP hosted Saturday Night Live in 2002.

In 2002, Reines joined Hillary Clinton's team as press secretary. In 2008, he was the communications advisor on Clinton's presidential campaign, while also serving as Chelsea Clinton's spokesperson. Between 2009 and 2013, he was Clinton's senior communications advisor when she was the Secretary of State under then-president Barack Obama.

Philippe Reines found himself embroiled in controversy in 2009 after the government was looking for a way to reset the US's relationship with Russia. Clinton was tasked with presenting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with a red button with the Russian word for "reset" on it in Geneva.

However, an error in translation led to "perezagruzka" (the Russian word for reset) being spelled as "peregruzka", which meant overcharged. Philippe Reines took full responsibility for the error via an email to Politico at the time, which read:

"While the Russians laughed off the error and accepted the gift in the spirit of cooperation that it was meant, I've been sic [sic] about the mistake since, especially that I let down the Secretary and the fine professionals at the State Department."

In 2013, Philippe Reines became the founder of the strategic advisory firm Beacon Global Strategies with others. His partnership with Hillary Clinton continued, and he accompanied her to over 111 countries as a part of her leadership team. In 2016, he was appointed as Donald Trump's stand-in during Clinton's mock debate sessions, a role that Clinton bestowed on him because of his longevity in her team.

Philippe Reines was tasked with protecting Clinton from criticism, which led to him knowing everything about her personal and professional life. Clinton felt this made him a worthy opponent, as he would not be afraid to criticize and insult her to prepare her for the real debate with Trump.

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Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will have their first-ever debate on September 10. Harris had previously asked for a "hot mics" debate, meaning both of their microphones stayed on for the entire duration.

However, new debate rules by ABC Network saw both parties agree to leave their microphones off when their opponent spoke. The 90-minute debate, moderated by ABC's David Muir and Linsey Davis, will have no live audience.