Vice President Kamala Harris could put her critics to rest by boldly announcing what she would do on her first day as president.

So far, she has been totally evasive, and it has hurt her.

Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has listed a string of day one plans, ranging from “drill, baby, drill,” to shutting down the border and deporting criminal illegal immigrants.

Harris could instantly change things, however, during her opening remarks in her long-awaited debate Tuesday with Trump.

Whoever wins that debate could be the next president.

Without notes or a teleprompter, Harris could look straight into the television camera — and into the heart of America — and confidently announce: “On the first day as your president, I will bring home to America our two brave astronauts who are stuck in space. They deserve to be home with their loved ones, and I intend to make that happen.”

Channeling President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 speech about landing an American on the moon, Harris could add, “I choose to do this, and other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

If that is not enough, she could delve into President Joe Biden’s vast verbal repertoire and say, “This is America. We are Americans, for God’s sake. There is nothing we can’t do if we do it together. Not a joke.”

She could promise to have them land on the south lawn of the White House and award them medals at a Rose Garden ceremony.

She then could turn to Trump, a man of many campaign promises, give him a cackle, a taunt and a look that would say, “Top that, Donald, if you can.”’

The progressive lapdogs in the left-wing media would eat it up and instantly declare her the debate winner.

And if Trump scoffed or mocked at her promise, Harris, who once frowned on wishing folks a Merry Christmas, could flip on the issue as she has on many other issues.

She could double down on her vow and promise to bring the two astronauts home in time for the Christmas holidays.

She could say, “They need to be home with their family and loved ones, and I intend to see that it happens. Christmas is an important holiday. My values have not changed.”

It does not matter if it does not happen, anyway. They are just words. It is her intentions that count.

The two Americans stranded in space — Sunita “Suni” Williams, 58, and Barry “Butch” Witmore, 61— were launched into space aboard Boeing’s Starliner. They were scheduled to return to Earth after an eight-day mission.

However, due to complications, the pair will not return to earth until February at the earliest, thus turning an eight-day mission into an eight-month journey.

Now, it is understood that Harris as president could do little to change the schedule and bring the pair home any earlier than the complicated return plan the NASA has put into place.

American Neil Armstrong, the first man to land on the moon, did so in 1969, six years after Kennedy made the promise, and was gone.

Besides, the space agency maintains that the pair of veteran astronauts and former test pilots have an abundance of space experience and can handle the situation.

But bringing the astronauts home early is not the point. It is highly unlikely that a president, or any president, could do that.

The point is winning the debate by bringing the issue up and saying you will do it.

The headlines in the progressive media would range from HARRIS DOMINATES DEBATE to TRUMP LOST IN SPACE.

But it would be a mistake to underestimate Trump, even in this fantasy of a column. He hasn’t gotten this far in this campaign by being a dummy.

All he would have to do is give Harris his Atlanta mugshot look and say, “Unlike in the Biden/Harris administration, no astronauts were ever stranded or lost in space when I was president, and none will be when I am president again.”

Then he could send each an absentee ballot.

Peter Lucas is a veteran political reporter. Email him at: peter.lucas@bostonherald.com

Tuesday night’s debate will be one for the history books. Donald Trump could win it all or not. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)