On Tuesday, Sept. 10, former U.S. President and Republican nominee, Donald Trump and current Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, met on stage at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia for their first presidential debate ahead of the general election in November.
The 90-minute debate was held without a studio audience and moderated by ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis.
It follows the June 27 debate between Trump and sitting President Joe Biden in Atlanta, Georgia. The aftermath of that debate, hosted by CNN, saw Biden replaced as Democratic presidential candidate by Harris, who announced her campaign on July 21.
The rules were simple, each candidate would be asked a question and provided two minutes to respond, followed by a one-minute rebuttal by the opposing candidate. Each candidate’s microphone was muted when not speaking.
Debate questions centered around the economy, immigration, abortion, foreign policy, the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, among other issues.
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With polls showing Harris and Trump essentially tied in swing states, the debate offered a crucial opportunity for both candidates to sway undecided voters.
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90 minutes of confrontation
“This was a fierce and fiery faceoff. Donald Trump on the defensive for much of the night, Kamala Harris taking every chance she could to get under his skin, goading Trump to go off-message while avoiding much focus on her own vulnerabilities,” ABC News chief White House correspondent, Mary Bruce, said on “Good Morning America” the following morning.
On abortion, Harris backed a nationwide right for American women to terminate their pregnancies, while Trump defended the rights of states to make their own laws on the controversial issue.
In 2022, the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade., the 1973 landmark ruling that mandated a federal right to abortion.
Contrasting with Harris’ stance, Trump stressed that he would not sign a bill to ban abortion nationwide. When pressed by the moderators on the issue, the former president said such a bill would have no chance of making it through the Senate.
Harris did not respond to a question by Trump on whether she opposes abortion in the third trimester of pregnancy, something that he had grilled former Democratic presidential candidate and current U.S. President Joe Biden on in their debate held this June.
Harris focused on one of her key platform promises, to provide more financial opportunities for those struggling with high costs of living, while Trump advocated his existing position on redoubled tariffs to boost the American economy from the supply side.
Describing herself as “the only person on this stage who has a plan that is about lifting up the middle class and working people of America,” Harris spoke about her agenda for boosting affordable housing. She also reiterated an earlier pledge to provide “the largest child tax credit” the country has given “in a long time.”
She also accused Trump’s policies of being a “Trump sales tax” on ordinary Americans while instituting even bigger tax breaks for the wealthy.
Trump rebuffed this by saying that increased tariffs — including those on China, which have been mostly retained by the Biden administration — would bring in hundreds of billions of dollars for the U.S. economy and benefit the whole country.
He accused Harris of being a “Marxist” and attempted to portray her as being a continuation of the Biden administration, which he criticized as causing the high inflation that began in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Harris was asked why it appeared she had backtracked on a number of her policy stances, including her stance on banning fracking, mandating buybacks of certain firearms, and decriminalizing border crossings.
In response, Harris focused on fracking, saying “I made that very clear in 2020, I will not ban fracking,” she said, adding that, “My values have not changed.”
Trump took the opportunity to capitalize on this, saying, “She wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison. This is a radical left liberal that would do this. She wants to confiscate your guns, and she will never allow fracking in Pennsylvania,” he said.
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A matter of rhetoric
Both candidates mostly reiterated their existing political agendas while lambasting their opponent. Observers on the left believed that Harris enjoyed more initiative over Trump and was able to keep him on the defensive, while right-wing figures accused the moderators of teaming up with Harris to make the debate harder for the Republican candidate.
Trump supporters accused the moderators of fact-checking Trump while allowing inaccuracies spoken by Harris to go unchallenged.
Harris had cited debunked talking points, including Trump’s support for the so-called Project 2025 — which Trump insisted he is avoiding even reading — and the “very fine people on both sides” claim, which surfaced following the 2017 Charlottesville white nationalist rally after Trump was selectively quoted to make it appear he referred to the white nationalists as “fine people.”
Polls are unlikely to see a significant shift following the debate, especially this early in the election cycle.
Typically, presidential debates tend to reinforce voter preferences unless there is a large gaff or major standout moment, which were absent from Tuesday’s debate.
