The debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump met for the first time on September 10, 2024, at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia to engage in one of the most deciding campaign events for presidential elections: the debate.
Here are some of the basics of the 2024 presidential debate:
The debate, hosted by ABC News, was held under a 90-minute time restraint. Both candidates had two minutes to answer, two minutes for a counterargument, and an extra minute for clarification. There was no live audience, and David Muir and Linsey Davis were the moderators. The mics were muted for the candidates when they weren’t speaking; however, this did not silence them.
Topics Discussed & Fact Checks in the Debate:
Harris and Trump were asked to address numerous prevalent issues, ranging from taxes and the economy, immigration, abortion, the environment, and foreign policies.
Taxes and the Economy
Beginning with the economy, David Muir asks Vice President Harris, “Do you believe Americans are better off than they were four years ago?” Kamala Harris addresses her plan to lift middle-class and working-class Americans, stimulating their attainment of dreams and goals by creating an “opportunity economy.” Through this economy, she plans to aid young households by extending a tax cut of six thousand dollars in order to carry out their daily needs and necessities. She then emphasizes her support of small businesses by extending tax reductions to start-ups, juxtaposing this plan with her claim that Trump will provide tax cuts to big corporations and the wealthy, and his tariff policy would raise prices.
Trump argues that he has no Trump sales tax and plans to raise tariffs on other countries to compensate for what the US has “done for the world.” He states that Harris and President Joe Biden are to blame for dramatic inflation (Fact Check). He also asserted that immigration policies by the Biden administration would create issues with jobs for Americans, blaming immigrants for “destroying our country.”
Clip of Harris’s argument:
Clip of Trump’s argument:
Abortion
When addressing the topic of abortion, Trump began by accusing Harris and Tim Walz of supporting late-term abortions and the execution of a baby after birth, which is false. He then goes on to explain that, under him, abortion would be decided by the states.
On the other hand, Kamala articulated her belief in the natural rights of women to make choices over their own bodies. She counters Trump’s plan of allowing the states to decide abortion laws by addressing the fact that “…women who are working one or two jobs, who can barely afford child care as it is, have to travel to another state… to go and get the healthcare she needs…” while barely being able to afford it.
Clip of Harris’s argument:
Immigration
Kamala began by informing the audience of her prosecution of international gangs and criminals in the US, addressing that Trump actually killed a two-party border security billl, that if successful, could have allowed for greater resources to prosecute transnational gangs for trafficking. She then goes on to criticize Trump’s rallies, commenting on the crowd sizes, clearly a tactic she used to get under Trump’s skin. It was later revealed that she was baiting Trump, and he consistently got caught on the hook. Trump retaliated by commenting on Harris’s rallies and then went on to blame the rise of immigration on President Biden and Harris. Famously, he addresses that in Springfield, Ohio, Haitian migrants “… are eating the dogs…they are eating the cats…” which is a baseless statement that went viral on social media not long after (Fact Check).
Clip of Harris’s argument:
Clip of Trump’s argument:
Foreign Policy
When addressing foreign policy, Trump and Harris argued about who was weaker– Trump claimed that there were no problems under his presidency compared to Biden’s presidency (Fact Check). Harris retaliated this by accusing Trump of being weak and easily manipulated by dictators, especially because he is friends with Putin.
Additionally, the topic of the war between Israel and Hamas was brought to light, and Harris responded by addressing the need for a ceasefire deal and the release of hostages, as well as a two-state solution that presents security to both Israeli people and Palestinians.
Trump responded to the question by claiming that if he were president, this war would not have begun, and also accused Harris of hating Israel and the Arab population as a whole– which was an unsupported, useless, and out-of-context statement. Trump then remarks that he will stop the wars between Israel and Hamas and Russia and Ukraine, avoiding addressing the topic in the end.
Kamala rebuttals by claiming that Trump wants to be a dictator.
Clip of Harris’s argument:
Clip of Trump’s argument:
Environment
On the topic of the environment, Harris promoted an investment in a clean energy economy that simultaneously improves gas and oil production. She claimed that Trump believes climate change is not real. Trump mostly avoided directly speaking on the topic of the environment and action plans; however, he spoke on how the trade deals under Biden and Harris paved the way for China and other countries to receive an advantage in energy and production.
Overview
Overall, the 2024 debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris was one to remember— with accusations, needed fact checks, and avoided questions, but also necessary conversations about plans… and concepts of plans, that are essential in deciding which presidential candidate is best for our country and the people residing in it.
A majority of those watching the debate said that Kamala Harris outperformed Donald Trump, as Harris directly addressed topics while Trump seemed to avoid them. He was described as being incoherent, evasive, defensive, and having a lack of serious grasp on policies. Trump’s performance was overall criticized, even by his own supporters, however attitudes of supporters remain unchanged.
Harris is currently leading the presidential election by two to five points.
If you are still struggling to decide on who to vote, visit this site for guidance.
