- i24NEWS
- International
- US / Canada
- Donald Trump, Kamala Harris exchange blows in presidential debate
Donald Trump, Kamala Harris exchange blows in presidential debate
Mediators interjected on several occassions to refute comment made by Donald Trump on several issues, including contradictory statements made on his claims of winning the 2000 elections
The American people viewed former US president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris meeting for the first time on the national stage during their first debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
Grappling over Israel support in wake of October 7
Israel took center stage nearly an hour in, with Harris standing on both Israel's right to defend itself after the October 7, while stressing that "it matters how." She also added her commitment to a two-state solution with the Palestinians and the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip.
"She hates Israel," Trump said, adding that "Israel would not exist" in several years if Harris becomes president. He said she hates Arabs as well, predicting widespread war while lauding his Middle East policies that led to stability.
"He's trying to hide and distract from reality," Harris responded. Trump admires and respects and dictators and autocrats – "it is well-known," she said.
The war of words began shortly after the candidates took the dais, sparring on immigration, foreign policy, the economy, abortion, and other key issues.
Trump attacked Harris for switching stances over her political career, while she defended herself as standing on her values, a quality she said the American people deserved and did not have with Trump in office.
She said she had a plan that addresses the needs, wants, and dreams of the American people, attacking what Trump had in store for the US.
US President Joe Biden, whom Trump referred to as "weak and pathetic," stepped down from the presidential race after a disastrous performance in his debate with the Republican presidential hopeful.
After a failed assassination attempt against Trump boosted his ratings, in addition to the first debate in late June, Harris turned the tables in national polls after taking over Biden's presidential re-election campaign. The pair remain neck-to-neck in key battleground states.
'You're not running against Joe Biden, you're running against me'
"You're not running against Joe Biden, you're running against me," Harris said after Trump slammed the Biden administration for the destructive war Russia is waging war in Ukraine. If Trump were president, Russian President Vladimir Putin "would by sitting in Kyiv right now," she said.
While asked by mediators whether he supported Ukraine over Russia, Trump vowed that the war would not have happened, and Putin "would be sitting in Moscow."
She pointed out the tax, sexual misconduct, national security, and election fraud charges against Trump as indicators of his unscrupulous conduct in office. Hitting back, Trump vowed he would win all cases on appeal, accusing Harris and the Biden administration's Justice Department for weaponizing the US justice system.
Harris stressed moving forward after Trump's controversies, particularly the deadly January 6, 2021, riots at the Capitol sparked by his rhetoric of the 2000 elections being stolen from him.
Divisive issues
Trump made claims of criminal immigrants entering the US, flooding through the border he said the Biden administration has allowed to remain open. Mediators stopped Trump after he claimed that immigrants are eating dogs and cats in the streets of American cities, with Harris scoffing at the notion and openly laughing.
Regarding the divisive issue of abortion, Trump praised the brave decision in the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, while accusing Harris of allowing abortions even after the baby is born. His jab was quickly refuted by moderators, as Harris called the claim "insulting to the women of America."
While Trump extolled the states making the decision on abortions, Harris pointed out that women seeking abortions must travel out of state.
Trump attacked Harris and the Biden administration on the economy, placing doubt into the million of jobs the current leadership says they have created. Harris accused Trump of leading the US into trade wars while capitulating to Chinese interests.
She pointed out several former Trump administration members who came out against the Republican hopeful, while Trump slammed the Biden administration for not firing anyone, even after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.
'The most embarrassing moment in our country's history'
Harris stood strong on the move, which ended with the Taliban taking the country over as American and allied forces left the country. Trump attacked the withdrawal – "they blew it" – which he called "the most embarrassing moment in our country's history."
He scored points by referring to the fatalities and American equipment left for the Taliban as the US left, adding that "for 18 months, we had nobody killed."
Unsympathetic stage for Trump
ABC News hosted the debate, with mediators David Muir and Linsey Davis asking the candidates questions in Trump's seventh presidential debate, while this was Harris's first.
The Harris-Trump debate came after he threatened to "terminate" the event, citing hostile coverage by the mediators and the ABC network. During the debate, mediators indeed tackled Trump numerous times.
Trump defended himself on the belligerent stage, while Harris exhibited a sense of ease and laughed on several occasions as she slipped under Trump's attacks.