3 Things to Know About the Trump-Harris Debate
3 Things You’ll Need to Know About the Harris-Trump debate.
Saturday, September 14, 2024
The first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump occurred on September 10th in Philadelphia. The event was commentated by ABC News Anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis as they presented the attitudes and policy differences between Harris and Trump.
This was the first presidential debate for Harris and possibly the last one we’ll see from these candidates according to a post from Trump on Truth Social. In these 90 minutes there were vital points that will help voters make an informed decision come Election Day on November 5th.
Quarrels Take Center Stage
From the first moments of the debate we saw an unfriendly dynamic between the two candidates. Harris attempted to meet Trump in the middle of the stage to shake hands, a gesture that he ignored. Harris met him at his podium, shook his hand, then returned to her corner and the debate began.
This was the first time both candidates met face-to-face.
Harris started by warning people that they would be hearing lies from Trump and called out what she described as “the same old tired playbook.”
She also poked fun at Trump’s political rallies and insisted people look into them to view his bizarre statements and the crowds of people leaving early, “out of exhaustion and boredom.”
Many social media users pointed out that Trump avoided eye contact with Harris throughout the debate. He made several attempts to discredit the democratic party, saying that if Harris becomes president, “We’ll end up being Venezuela on steroids.”
Most of his attacks tried to tie Vice President Harris to President Joe Biden, calling him the worst president in U.S. history. In response to questions about his comments regarding Harris’s ethnicity, he attempted to justify his claims and did not retract them.
America’s Current Priorities - Improvement to the Economy and Immigration
Harris insisted that Trump’s office passed the struggling economy onto the hands of Biden when he became president. She also argued that the COVID-19 pandemic played a big part in halting the process of re-stabilizing the economy.
Harris proposed an “opportunity economy” which would aid small businesses, first-time homeowners, and families with newborns.
Trump said he would place tariffs on other countries, particularly China. “I have concepts of a plan,” Trump vaguely explained when asked about an economic plan. “I’m not president right now.”
He blamed Democrats’ lack of control on immigration as the reason for increased criminality and inflation. He was then scrutinized by Harris for shutting down a bill that was meant to reduce illegal border crossings and the flow of illegal fentanyl entering the country.
Trump said that if Kamala wanted change, she could have spent the last 4 years making it. He pressed her on the alarming numbers of border crossings during her time in office under Biden.
With many of her stances changing since the 2020 election, Trump said that Harris is now switching over to his philosophies - implying she may be trying to appeal to conservative interests for undecided voters.
Getting Fact Checked by Commentators
This debate’s commentators were not shy to fact-check misinformation.
The former president’s statement about cats and dogs being eaten by Haitian immigrants in Springfield, OH was corrected by ABC News Anchor David Muir. He informed Trump that they had reached out to city officials who stated that no credible reports of these incidents had been reported.
Trump was also pressed about his acknowledgement of losing by a whisker during the 2020 presidential race against Joe Biden. He denied these claims and insisted he was being sarcastic at the time, maintaining that the election was stolen.
When speaking on abortion, commentator Linsey Davis had to correct Trump’s comment that babies were being executed after birth. “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it is born,” she explained.
Trump and many of his supporters have addressed concerns about the commentators being more lenient on Harris.
She went back on previous statements that she would ban fracking. She spoke of Trump possibly getting presidential immunity for his ongoing court cases, even though that would not apply to his unofficial acts.
According to The Associated Press, Harris made several other statements that were not fact-checked but required more context.
Watch the video below for a look into what college students think about the presidential debate.
September 12, 2024
Leslie Meraz
