Tuesday, September 10, 2024 saw the first official debate between candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, a little under two months before election day. Current Vice President Harris is the Democratic Party nominee and the first African/Asian American woman nominated for the presidential ballot. Former President Trump is the Republican Party nominee, running for his second term after losing the 2020 election. Around two months before the debate, President Joe Biden announced that he was not going to continue to campaign for reelection, and instead endorsed the current Vice President. There was an official debate between Biden and Trump in June, but candidates Trump and Harris had never met in person prior to their recent debate. This debate comes during a highly contentious election, requiring both candidates to affirm their stances to voters. The debate was broadcast nationwide with moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, both anchors for ABC News.
Harris’ stance throughout the debate framed a potential second Trump presidency as a disaster, while instead stating that America under her leadership will be a country of hope. “What we have done is clean up Trump’s mess. What we have done and what I intend to do is build on what we know are the aspirations and the hopes of the American people.” Trump opted for a similar approach stating, “If [Harris] ever got elected, she’d change [her plans]. And it will be the end of our country.” Harris and Trump stated their plans for a variety of topics including the salient issues of the economy, immigration, and abortion. For the economy, Harris provided her plan on financing small businesses as well as her suggestion for reducing taxes for families. Trump, on the other hand, focused on placing tariffs on foreign nations. Throughout the debate, Trump often returned to the topic of immigration, hammering home the point that “[immigrants] are dangerous…and we have to get them out.” Harris agreed that immigration was an important issue, but argued that her and the Biden administration had made important steps to fixing the border crisis, and that Trump would only hurt that progress. Finally, on the subject of abortion, Harris described her hopes to bring reproductive rights to women all over the country, cutting down on the bans brought upon the states from the overturning of Roe v. Wade. In addition, Harris made the claim that “Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body.” Trump rebutted by stating that “I’m not in favor of the abortion ban,” but argued that it was important to turn the issue of abortion to the states.
The candidates debated in total for an hour and fifty-two minutes. Vice President Harris has expressed interest in a second debate, however Former President Trump has stated that it’s “too late” as people have already started voting.
