Donald Trump and Kamala Harris faced off on the debate stage Tuesday night for what could be their first—and possibly last—encounter before Election Day. The Democratic vice-presidential candidate kicked off the debate with a bold gesture, walking over to Trump’s lectern to extend her hand for a greeting, something not seen since the 2016 debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton. In 2020, when Biden was the Democratic nominee, the customary handshake was skipped as a precaution due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The exchange set the stage for the 90-minute debate that then followed: Harris largely took control of the conversation at multiple times, provoking Trump with criticism of his economic policies, his refusal to accept his defeat in the 2020 election, and his performances at rallies. At first composed, Trump became increasingly irritated as the evening progressed.
In her initial response, the former prosecutor stated that Trump’s tariffs would essentially impose a sales tax on the middle class. She then accused Trump of being responsible for overseeing the most significant attack on American democracy since the Civil War, the Capitol Hill insurrection of January 6th, 2021. She criticized him for dictating to women what to do with their bodies and ridiculed his admiration for dictators, explicitly referring to Vladimir Putin, claiming they would “eat you for lunch”.
Harris provoked reactions from Trump that ranged from outbursts to reminders of his defiant rhetoric and obsession with the past. “You actually lost that election,” Harris noted, addressing Trump’s continued denial of his defeat in 2020 against Joe Biden. “Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people,” she added, pointing to Biden’s victory.
Addressing the viewers, she said, “You will not hear him talk about your needs, your dreams, your needs and your wants,” adding, “And I will tell you, I think you deserve a president who really puts you first.”
Trump often played defense, but he was able to highlight the core message of his campaign: Inflation and immigration are severely affecting the lives of Americans.
He then asserted that immigrants have “destroyed the fabric of our country” and repeatedly equated Harris with Biden. “She is Biden,” Trump declared.
He added: “We are experiencing the worst inflation ever. The economy is terrible because inflation has made it worse. And she can’t escape that.”
Harris replied: “I am clearly not Joe Biden, nor Donald Trump. What I offer is a new generation of leadership for our country.”
ABC moderator David Muir directly questioned Trump on his recent remark that Harris had “gone black”, despite the fact that Harris is black and South Asian and graduated from Howard University, a historically black institution in Washington.
Trump has attempted to downplay the issue, saying, “I don’t care what it is. You’re making a big deal out of something I don’t care about at all.”
Harris robustly defended abortion rights, a key issue for Democrats since Trump’s nominees allowed the Supreme Court to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. Her strong arguments were in stark contrast to President Joe Biden’s remarks on the subject during the June debate with Trump.
“The government, and Donald Trump, should certainly not be telling a woman what to do with her own body,” Harris said. The Vice President then passionately recounted the emotional turmoil faced by women who are dealing with medical complications, the heart-wrenching decisions they are forced to make and the necessity of traveling out of state in order to access abortion practice.
Trump was equally categorical in defending himself, claiming that he had brought the subject back to the states, a move he said many Americans wanted. However, he missed no opportunity to reiterate lies, repeatedly stating the false claim that Democrats support abortion even after birth, despite being corrected by moderator Linsey Davis.
“I did a great service by doing this. It took courage,” Trump said about the overturning of Roe v. Wade and its constitutional protections for abortion. “And the Supreme Court showed great courage in doing that. I give enormous credit to those six justices.”
Harris made a direct appeal to voters across the political spectrum, including Republicans. She emphasized her status as a gun owner, referred to the “late, great John McCain” – the Republican senator from Arizona and war hero whom Trump criticized – and pointed to former Trump administration officials who now support his campaign. In contrast, Trump has largely neglected efforts to reach out to centrist voters, disregarding the calls for unity that characterized his convention speech. Harris also used the January 6th attack on Capitol Hill to appeal to undecided voters, and ultimately, she called for unity: “It’s time to turn the page.”
Trump then persistently perpetuated false statements, such as rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio ate pets – a fabrication denied by local officials – while criticizing the Biden-Harris administration for allowing dangerous immigrants in. When Harris questioned him about the numerous criminal and civil cases against him, Trump lashed out at her and Biden, accusing them of orchestrating the cases. “I probably took a bullet in the head for the things they said about me,” he said, referring to the July assassination attempt by a gunman whose motives remain unclear. When asked about his role in the riot on Capitol Hill, Trump raised his voice, blaming Democratic Representative Nancy Pelosi and the mayor of Washington for the incident. He claimed that the rioters were “treated terribly” and again denied that he had lost the 2020 election.
According to analysts and experts, the debate was undoubtedly won by Kamala Harris, who managed to put the former president on the spot, often provoking him, while at the same time avoiding thorny topics. Trump, on the other hand, seemed more defensive, as if he was the incumbent president, and was therefore trying to defend his accomplishments.
Meanwhile, immediately after the debate, Taylor Swift, arguably the world’s most famous and influential performer, said she would vote for Harris by sharing a post on her Instagram profile and signing herself as “childless cat lady”, with which Republican vice presidential candidate J. D. Vance had dubbed Kamala Harris.
