PHILADELPHIA: Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump met for their first and perhaps only debate on Tuesday, a showdown that could have a significant impact on the Nov. 5 election as polls show a close race.
Here are the conclusions from the debate:
HIS RIVAL HIS RIVAL
Harris set out to get under Trump's skin, as her campaign had predicted.
She urged viewers to attend a Trump rally where she said Trump would say outlandish things like windmills cause cancer (something he actually said) and where, she mocked, the attendees they would leave out of exhaustion and boredom.
Trump, who prides himself on the crowds he draws, was clearly annoyed.
“My rallies, we have the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics,” he said. He accused Harris of transporting attendees to her rallies.
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump returns from a commercial break during a presidential debate with US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 10, 2024. (AFP )
Trump then falsely claimed that immigrants from the country were killing and eating pets in the city of Springfield, Ohio, an unsubstantiated claim that circulated on social media and was amplified by Trump's running mate JD Vance.
“In Springfield, eat dogs! The people who came in are eating the cats!” Trump said. “They eat the pets of the people who live there.”
Springfield city officials said those reports were untrue, which ABC moderators pointed out after Trump's comments.
“Talk about extreme,” Harris replied with a laugh.
DEFENSE GAME
Another goal of Harris, as a former California U.S. attorney, has been to call out Trump for his past actions, particularly his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
An hour into the debate, her strategy seemed to be paying off. Trump was continually on the defensive.
Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris gestures as she speaks during a presidential debate with Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump hosted by ABC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 10, 2024. (REUTERS)
Asked about the January 6, 2021, siege of the US Capitol, he insisted he had “nothing to do with it other than they asked me to give a speech.” He also falsely claimed to have won the 2020 election.
Harris used Trump's actions as an argument for the country to turn the page.
“Donald Trump has been fired by 81 million people, so let's be clear about that, and it's clear that he's having a very hard time processing that, but we can't afford to have a president of the United States who is trying, like has done in the past, to subvert the will of the voters in a free and fair election,” Harris said.
The vice president took another dig at Trump, saying world leaders were “laughing” at him and calling him a disgrace — language Trump has used at rallies to refer to how he says other countries view President Joe Biden.
Minutes later, Trump lashed out, claiming that Harris had been given “no news” in claiming the Democratic nomination and suggesting that he was replacing Biden as part of some kind of coup.
“He hates her,” Trump said of Biden. “He can't stand it.”
The exchanges may have helped Harris' case that Trump, as she put it, does not have the “temperament” to be president.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts in the rotation room on the day of his debate with Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 10, 2024. (REUTERS)
RACIAL DIVISION
Deep in the debate, the topic of race came up. Trump was asked why he publicly questioned Harris' dual heritage as a black and South Asian woman.
“I don't care what she is,” he replied. “I read that she was black. Then I read that she wasn't black.”
Asked to respond, Harris accused Trump of using race to divide Americans throughout his career. She cited how he and his father rejected black tenants in the 1970s and how Trump led the public outcry against five young black and Latino men who were wrongfully convicted of assaulting a jogger in New York's Central Park City in 1989.
More recently, he has openly questioned whether President Barack Obama is an American citizen, Harris noted.
“I think it's a tragedy that we have somebody who wants to be president who has consistently tried throughout his career to use race to divide the American people,” she said.
“I think the American people want more than that,” Harris added. “We don't want a leader who is constantly trying to get Americans to point fingers at each other.”
Instead of trying to defend his record, Trump turned to the economy and tried to pin Biden's economic policies on Harris. “She's trying to get rid of Biden,” he said.
Harris used the attack to recast himself as an agent of change.
“I'm clearly not Joe Biden, and I'm certainly not Donald Trump,” Harris said, “and what I'm offering is a new generation of leadership for our country.”
HANDSHAKE
Heading into the debate, there was the question of how Harris and Trump, who have never met, would greet each other.
Harris solved the problem, for good. She approached Trump at his podium, extended her hand and introduced herself as “Kamala Harris.”
It was a disarming way for Harris to address a man who had spent weeks insulting her race and gender.
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (R) shakes hands with former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 10, 2024. (AFP)
SAVING ON THE ECONOMY
In the opening minutes of the debate, Trump and Harris battled on one of the issues on the minds of voters: the economy.
Harris detailed the economic policies he has implemented in recent weeks, which include a substantial tax credit for small start-ups. Trump focused his comments on the tariffs, saying they would protect the American economy from unfair foreign competition.
While both sides took jabs, Harris got to speak first on a topic where he trails Trump in terms of voter confidence. She appeared to force the former president onto the back foot, and Trump essentially played defense on one of his strongest issues.
“She doesn't have a plan,” Trump said after Harris' opening comments. “It's like run, find, run.”
A SCHISM ON ABORTION
The two candidates also engaged in a heated debate over abortion, an issue where polls show Harris has the upper hand.
Trump defended the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended constitutional protections for abortion and sent the issue back to individual states, arguing, incorrectly, that it was an outcome desired by both Republicans and Democrats. Democrats have long supported a constitutional right to abortion.
“We did a great service doing that. It took courage to do it,” Trump said.
A member of the media uses a screen phone to show the presidential debate as Republican presidential candidate former US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate US Vice President Kamala Harris participate in a presidential debate hosted by ABC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, on September 10, 2024. (REUTERS)
Trump claimed that some states allow abortion of babies after birth, a point corrected by ABC News moderator Linsey Davis.
Harris showed some outrage at Trump's claim that abortion becoming a states' rights issue was a popular result, referring to states that have passed restrictive bans.
“Is this what the people wanted?” Harris asked. “People being denied care in an emergency room because health care providers are afraid of going to jail?”
Trump was asked if he would veto a federal abortion ban if one were passed by Congress. He insisted it would never happen, but refused to definitively answer the question.
WORLDS AWAY
One of the most heated political discussions occurred when Trump and Harris clashed over how to handle Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The candidates' responses revealed the degree to which their views on America's role in the world differed fundamentally.
Trump refused to say he wanted Ukraine to win the war, even as ABC moderator David Muir pressed him on the subject, saying only that he wanted to end the conflict as soon as possible.
Harris responded by arguing that what Trump really wanted was Ukraine's swift and unconditional surrender.
“If Donald Trump was president, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would be sitting in Kiev right now,” Harris said.
'WEAPON JUSTICE
In a heated exchange, Trump and Harris accused each other of conspiring to “weaponize” the Justice Department in an attempt to go after their enemies.
Trump said the charges he faces for conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss and mishandling classified documents — as well as his conviction for forging documents related to hush payments to a porn star — are all the result of a conspiracy cooked up by Harris and Biden. There is no evidence for this claim.
Harris responded by pointing out that Trump has promised to go after his enemies if he wins a second term.
“You understand that this is somebody who has openly said he's going to terminate, quote, terminate the Constitution,” Harris said.
The exchange underscored how Harris and Trump see the stakes of this election as existential. Both see their opponent as a threat to democracy itself.
