In a high-stakes showdown in Philadelphia, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump faced off on the debate stage for the first and possibly only time before the 2024 presidential election.
The debate, moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis, delved into a wide range of pressing issues, including the economy, immigration, abortion, energy policy, the 2020 election, the Israel-Hamas war, and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
With just eight weeks remaining before Election Day, both candidates delivered intense and impassioned arguments as they sought to persuade voters and solidify their positions in the race.
Harris emphasized her plan for an “opportunity economy” and touted her proposals on making housing more affordable and expanding the child tax credit while Trump argued that his plan to implement tariffs would help Americans.
Trump blamed Harris for President Joe Biden’s policies, including the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and immigration.
He also repeated claims about widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
Harris said she agreed with President Joe Biden’s decision to pull US troops out of Afghanistan in 2021, asserting that Trump “negotiated one of the weakest deals you can imagine” on the matter during his time as President.
On the war in Ukraine, Trump argued that he could get the conflict “settled” within 24 hours but wouldn’t say if he wanted Ukraine to win. He also falsely claimed that Harris met with Russian President Vladimir Putin days before the invasion.
Harris cast herself as the change candidate.
“Clearly, I am not Joe Biden, and I am certainly not Donald Trump. And what I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country.”
Kamal Harris
When asked about Trump’s comment about her turning black, Harris argued that the American people want better than that.
“We don’t want a leader who is constantly trying to have Americans point their fingers at each other. I meet with people all the time who tell me, ‘Can we please just have a discourse about how we’re going to invest in the aspirations and the ambitions and the dreams of the American people?'”
Kamala Harris
She argued the American people want a President who invests in dreams and aspirations, “not in hate and division.”
Uncharted Territory
While the moderators attempted to keep the debate focused on issues, at times, it veered into uncharted territory including allegations of eating pets and executing babies and crowd size comparisons.
The nominees continued to speak over each other despite microphones being muted when it was not a candidate’s turn to speak forcing moderators step in.
Harris appeared to have a plan to throw Trump off his game, and she seemed to succeed during the contentious debate, saying that foreign leaders were laughing at him and accusing him of belittling people.
Throughout the debate, Harris goaded Trump, and the former President took the bait over and over again.
Harris got under Trump’s skin when she brought up crowd sizes at rallies.
“People start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom,” Harris said, adding, “The one thing you will not hear him talk about is you.”
Speaking during her closing remarks, Harris noted that America has heard “two very different visions for our country: One that is focused on the future, and one that is focused on the past — an attempt to take us backward.”
“But we’re not going back,” she added.
During his closing remarks, Trump tried to tie Harris to the Biden administration.
“She’s been there for 3.5 years. They’ve had 3.5 years to fix the border. They’ve had 3.5 years to create jobs and all the things we talked about. Why hasn’t she done it?
“She should leave right now, go down to that beautiful White House, go to the Capitol, get everyone together, and do the things you want to do but you haven’t done it — and you won’t do it.”
Donald Trump
He ended his remarks by calling Biden and Harris “the worst President, the worst Vice President in the history of our country.”
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