Presidential Debate | Tense Discussions on Abortion and the Economy

(Philadelphia) Kamala Harris and Donald Trump presented starkly different visions for the country on abortion, immigration and American democracy in their first meeting Tuesday.

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It was perhaps their only debate before the November presidential election, a high-pressure occasion for the candidates after a tumultuous summer of campaigning.

The Democratic vice president sought to provoke the former Republican president by reminding him of his 2020 election defeat, which he still denies, and by making mocking remarks about his other false statements. Ms.^me Harris’s comments prompted Mr. Trump to engage in the kind of personal attacks and digressions that his advisers and supporters have tried to steer him away from.

Reacting after the duel, Donald Trump assured that he had “never debated so well” and accused the moderators of bias.

“I thought it was my best debate […]especially since it was three against one!” the Republican candidate assured on his Truth Social platform.

The vice president, for her part, challenged Mr. Trump to debate a second time.

The showdown offered Americans a closer look at a campaign that has changed dramatically since the last debate in June, which forced President Joe Biden out of the race. The Democratic vice president immediately lashed out at the Republican former president and his bombastic rhetoric, linking him to the conservative “Project 2025” vision for a Republican administration and the GOP’s efforts to restrict access to abortion.

“Let’s talk about extremes,” replied Mr.^me Harris, when Mr. Trump repeated unsubstantiated claims that immigrants in Ohio eat their neighbors’ dogs and cats.

Mr Trump in turn tried to tie M^me Harris to Mr. Biden, questioning why she had not acted on his proposed ideas while she was vice president. “Why didn’t she?” he asked. Mr. Trump also focused his attacks on Ms.^me Harris on the mission President Biden has given her to address the root causes of illegal immigration.

The Republican has again pledged to deport the millions of people who are in the United States illegally. He warned that Mr^me Harris was “worse than Biden” and that her policies would turn the United States into Venezuela.

By stating that it is “time to turn the page”, Mr.^me Harris appealed to Republicans and independents turned off by Mr. Trump’s style and his efforts four years ago to overturn the 2020 presidential election, saying there is a place in his campaign for them to “defend the country, defend our democracy, defend the rule of law and put an end to chaos.”

Mr Trump has twice refused to say that it is in the US interest for Ukraine to win its war against Russia.^me Harris said it was an example of why America’s NATO allies were grateful he was no longer in office, as she and Mr Biden sent tens of billions of dollars to help Kyiv repel Russia’s invasion.

Democrats ‘cleaned up Trump’s mess,’ Harris says

M^me Harris was a vocal critic of Mr. Trump for the state of the economy and democracy when he left office, as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the nation and after his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

“What we did was clean up Donald Trump’s mess,” Mr.^me Harris. She began her response by saying she expects voters to hear “a lot of lies, grievances and insults” from her Republican opponent during their 90-minute debate.

Mr. Trump, for his part, quickly lashed out at M.^me Harris for abandoning some of her former liberal positions and said, “She’s going to follow my philosophy now. In fact, I was going to send her a (Make America Great Again) hat.”^me Harris smiled and laughed.

The vice president has tried to justify her abandonment of liberal causes in favor of more moderate positions on fracking, expanding Medicare for All and mandatory gun buyback programs — and even her retreat from her position that plastic straws should be banned — as pragmatism, insisting that her “values ​​remain the same.”

When the debate opened, Mr.^me Harris approached Mr. Trump’s lectern to introduce herself, marking the first time the two candidates had met. “Kamala Harris,” she said, extending her hand to Mr. Trump, who received it in a handshake. It was the first handshake at a presidential debate since the 2016 campaign.

Tensions over abortion and the economy

M^me Harris, targeting one of Mr. Trump’s biggest electoral vulnerabilities, blamed the end of the nation’s abortion rights on Mr. Trump for his role in appointing three U.S. Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving more than 20 states across the country with what she called “Trump abortion bans.”

M^me Harris gave one of her most impassioned responses, describing the ways women have been denied abortion and other emergency care, and said Mr. Trump would impose a national abortion ban if he won.

Mr Trump claimed it was “a lie” and said: “I’m not signing a ban and there’s no reason to sign a ban.”

The Republican said he wanted the issue left to the states.

M^me Harris used a question about her plans to improve the economy by saying she would extend the tax cut for families with children and a tax deduction for small businesses, while attacking Mr. Trump’s plans to impose extensive tariffs as a “sales tax” on goods that the American people will eventually pay.

Mr. Trump remained impassive during his response, but retorted: “I don’t have sales tax. That’s an incorrect statement. She knows that.”

Mr. Trump continued to characterize M^me Harris as a “Marxist” and said, “Everyone knows she’s a Marxist.” Ms. Harris’ eyebrows^me Harris stood up and she made an amused face, putting her hand on her chin and staring at him.

The Republican candidate, for his part, is trying to portray the vice president as a liberal out of touch with reality while trying to convince voters skeptical of her return to the White House.

Early voting in sight

Mr Trump, 78, has struggled to adjust to M^me Harris, 59, who is the first woman and the first Black and South Asian person to serve as vice president, has at times resorted to racial and gender stereotypes, frustrating allies who want Mr. Trump to focus instead on policy differences with Ms.^me Harris.

The vice president, for her part, is trying to take some credit for the Biden administration’s accomplishments, while addressing its difficult moments and explaining its shifts from the more liberal positions she had taken in the past.

After the June 27 debate between Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden, the incumbent president withdrew from the race following his disastrous performance, Mr. Trump survived an assassination attempt, and both sides chose their running mates.

The debate submitted M^me Harris, who has given only one official interview in the past six weeks, in a rare moment of sustained questioning.

The first early ballots in the presidential race were due to be sent out just hours after the debate, hosted by ABC News. Mail-in ballots are expected to be sent out starting Wednesday in Alabama.

The candidates met in a small, blue-lit amphitheater converted into a television studio, without an audience and live, meaning there was no loud applause, cheering or booing.

The intimate setting – the candidates’ desks were placed less than three metres apart – gave little hint of the controversial debate that was to follow.

With Agence France-Presse