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The First Harris-Trump Debate: Key Takeaways

Michaela Cullen
Image of US Vice President Kamala Harris representing the Harris-Trump Debate.

Michaela Cullen

On the evening of 10th September, the two presidential candidates stood before an audience-less room at the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia.

With the election less than two months away, this was Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s first meeting, which began with an awkward handshake led by Harris, who marched right up to Trump’s podium in a distinct power move.

“Let’s have a good debate,” she said.

“Nice to see you. Have fun,” he replied.

The first debate between the Democrat and Republican candidates, moderated by ABC News’ Linsey Davis and David Muir, covered a range of core issues central to US voters.

ABORTION CONCERNS BOTH CANDIDATES

The former president was the first one to be questioned on the issues of abortion in the US by Davis, who questioned Trump about his pride in being the most “pro-life president in American history.”

During his presidency, Trump historically passed the overturn of Roe v Wade and appointed three of the Supreme Court judges known for their pro-life views.

This ruling means that individual states are able to choose to ban abortion by making it illegal.

Trump said: “This is an issue that’s torn our country apart for 52 years” and everyone “wanted this issue to be brought back to the States where the people could vote, and that’s what happened.”

“Donald Trump, certainly, should not be telling a woman what to do with her body”

Trump went on to falsely claim that a former West Virginia governor said newborns could be executed following birth.

He was quickly fact checked by Davis, who said: “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born.”

Trump attempted to soften his position on the issue by criticising six-week abortion bans and reaffirming his support for exceptions in cases of rape, incest, and threats to the mother’s life.

Harris was quick to shoot down this claim, saying Trump abortion bans make “no exception even for rape and incest.”

She said: “Understand what that means, a survivor of a crime of violation to their body does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body.”

As Vice President, Harris served as the White House’s public representative for initiatives to improve maternal health and protect some access to abortion, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Earlier this year, she became the highest-ranking US official to publicly visit an abortion clinic.

Harris spoke of the medical challenges women have faced since the overturn of Roe v Wade, holding Trump swiftly accountable.

“That is immoral and one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government, and Donald Trump, certainly, should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” she said.

DISPARITIES AND CONSPIRACIES ON IMMIGRATION

Immigration was brought up multiple times by the former President. He spoke of “criminals” taking over the country, despite being told the numbers of illegal immigrants from Central America dropped significantly after Biden imposed new asylum restrictions.

Harris spoke of the Biden Administration’s recent ploy for a Border Security Bill, which aimed to deploy the most agents and officers ever to address the situation at the Southern border and seize illicit fentanyl at the country’s ports of entry.

She said: “That bill would have put more resources to allow us to prosecute transnational criminal organisations for trafficking in guns, drugs and human beings.”

Harris was quick to blame Trump for the abolishment of the bill, claiming he “got on the phone, called up some folks in Congress, and said kill the bill.”

According to NBC News, within 48 hours of the bill’s release, Republican senators did just that.

“They’re eating the dogs”

While given the opportunity to defend his position on preventing the bill, Trump diverted the conversation to a conspiracy of Haitian immigrants harming household pets.

Trump said: “In Springfield they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats…they’re eating the pets of the people that live there and this is what’s happening in our country and it’s a shame,” he said.

Harris laughed her way through this response. “Talk about the extreme,” she said.

Then Muir dismissed this claim, saying there have been “no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”

AN APPROACH TO WORLD CONFLICT

Harris has long been extremely vocal on her views towards Israel.

Recently, she has been criticised for her stark pro-Israel stance, and in July was disrupted by protesters at a rally in Michigan over the US’ continued support for Israel.

Many activists are calling for her to support an arms embargo against Israel, but her chief foreign policy adviser has dismissed this possibility, saying Harris does not support the embargo.

During the debate, Harris stood by her stance, saying: “Israel has a right to defend itself.”

She said: “We must have a two states solution where we can rebuild Gaza where the Palestinians have security self-determination and the dignity they so rightly deserve.”

Trump has also shown support for Israel in the past, describing himself as the “best friend that Israel has ever had.” When asked how he would negotiate with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he claimed the conflict “would have never started” if he were President.

He then spoke at length about Harris’ “hatred” for Israel, and claimed: “If she’s president, I believe that Israel will not exist within two years from now.”

The conversation moved from Gaza to the Russia/Ukraine conflict. Trump previously said he expected the war to end within the first 20 minutes of his presidency if elected and continued to claim this during the debate.

He twice refused to directly answer a question about whether it would be in the US’ best interests for US ally Ukraine to win.

He concluded: “It’s in the US’ best interests to get this war finished and just get it done,” again, providing no negotiation strategy.

“If Donald Trump were president, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now”

Trump suggested that the timing of the conflict’s outbreak coincided with Harris’ trip to the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany in February 2022, a high-profile mission aimed at rallying European and NATO leaders in support of Ukraine

The conference occurred just days before Putin’s decision to send troops into Ukraine.

Harris responded to Trump’s point: “Through the work that I and others did we brought 50 countries together to support Ukraine in its righteous defence,” maintaining Ukraine’s position as an “independent and free country.”

“If Donald Trump were president, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now,” she said.

No concepts of negations were made by Harris despite being asked how she would deal with Putin.

POLICY, INFLATION AND ECONOMY

Harris advocated for an “opportunity economy,” focusing on small business owners and new families.

She said: “We know that we have a shortage of homes and housing, and the cost of housing is too expensive for far too many people.”

Harris spoke of her plan to extend a $6,000 tax cut to help young families afford essentials like cribs, car seats, and clothing for their children.

“I have the concepts of a plan”

She said: “My opponent has a plan that I called the Trump sales tax, which would be a 20 per cent tax on every day goods.” She argued that Trump’s economic policy could cause a recession.

However, when asked why the Biden administration has maintained several tariffs introduced by Trump during his presidency, Harris did not provide an answer. She also failed to outline how she would address inflation, a top concern currently for many voters.

Trump was quick to criticise the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the economy, claiming “we have inflation like very few people have ever seen before, probably the worse in our nation’s history.”

He said: “I had no inflation, virtually no inflation, they had the highest inflation perhaps in the history of our country.”

He called her statement on his tax policy incorrect and placed great emphasis on his tariffs proposal.

Trump said: “We’re doing tariffs on other countries. Other countries are going to finally, after 75 years, pay us back for all that we’ve done for the world.”

 

Harris reaffirmed her policy positions have not shifted, particularly on the issue of fracking. She stressed that she has never backed a fracking ban after Trump accused her of trying to ban the practice, highlighting her tie-breaking vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, which authorised new fracking leases.

Attacking Harris’ policy stance, Trump said: “She wants to do transgender operations on a legal aliens that are in prison. This is a radical left liberal that would do this.”

“She wants to confiscate your guns,” he continued.

Harris once again knocked this claim down, saying her and her running Vice President Tim Walz are both gun owners, but she is also a supporter of stricter gun laws.

Healthcare policy was briefly discussed, with Trump acknowledging that despite nine years of pledging to repeal the Affordable Care Act – known as Obamacare – he has yet to present a replacement plan.

His response, “I have the concepts of a plan,” has since become a trending sound on social media.

RESPONSE TO THE DEBATE

A distinct lack of policy was seen during the debate, where both Harris and Trump failed to acknowledge specifically how major issues would be addressed.

Ben Davis, an opinion writer for The Guardian who works in political data in Washington DC, criticised the debate as “deeply sad.”

He said: “Instead of a debate about policy and plans, what we saw was a debate about Trump, with Harris dancing around her own record and policies to skilfully prosecute the case against Trump instead.”

However, the general consensus is that Harris won the debate after purposely baiting Trump on the lack of people attending his rallies and claiming fellow world leaders would “eat him for lunch.”

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, Harris holds a lead over Trump in the national race, with 47 per cent of registered voters supporting her compared to 42 per cent for Trump, a slight increase from her 45 per cent to 41 per cent advantage in August.

Among voters who were aware of the recent debate, 53 per cent believe Harris won, while 24 per cent believe Trump did.

Harris’ running VP, Tim Walz, responded positively to Harris’ performance during the debate, saying she “conducted herself with dignity” and presented “a clear vision forward.” He criticised Trump as a “nearly 80-year-old angry narcissist.”

Trump’s running VP, J.D Vance, responded to criticisms of Trump’s Springfield conspiracies, claiming “we’ve heard from a number of constituents on the ground who both first-hand and second-hand reports, saying this stuff is happening.”

Following the debate, the Harris administration received a glowing endorsement from Taylor Swift.

The singer posted on Instagram: “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election,” the post continues.

Trump has ruled out another presidential debate against Harris before the elections in November.

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Featured image courtesy of on Flickr. No changes were made to this image. Image license available here.

Michaela is currently in her third year studying Journalism at the University of Technology Sydney. She has contributed to the UTS newsroom Central News with a range of political and social justice stories. She is also the 2023 Australian Foreign Policy Fellow for Young Australians in International Affairs and Editor-in-Chief of the United Nations Youth NSW Global Advocate Magazine.

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