On Tuesday, Sept. 10, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump took to the ABC stage for their highly anticipated presidential debate. This was the pair’s first time meeting face-to-face, and although the stakes were high, tensions were higher. At first, the debate remained civil, but as the candidates dove deeper into their opposing views, composure and professionalism began to hang by a thread.
Unlike the debate recently seen between Biden and Trump, this one remained notably more respectful and peaceful for longer. There was significantly less back-and-forth and straying from topics, but unfortunately, it was not seamless in any way. It is evident from any standpoint and political stance that Harris was prepared and strategic, while Trump was impulsive and short-tempered.
During this debate, Trump tumbled and fell for every trap laid out for him, he blurted out falsehoods, talked over the moderators and shamelessly brought up Biden a notable amount of times. While transitioning from matters of economic policy to subjects like abortion and immigration, the debate quickly took some turns.
When asked by the moderators why women should trust him with his views on abortion after changing his stance many times, he alluded to Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, stating, “Her vice presidential pick says abortion in the ninth month is absolutely fine,” and then claimed Walz said execution after birth is “okay.” This was Trump’s segue into the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which he took responsibility and pride in, emphasizing the belief that conservatives and liberals both wanted to bring this issue to the states, rather than the federal government.
After witnessing a string of entertaining expressions from Harris trying to hide her laughter, ABC’s Linsey Davis, one of the moderators, corrected Trump on his false claims. Then it came time for Harris’ rebuttal. Here, the audience saw a strong statement made by Harris, where she stated the immorality of the government’s right to decide what a woman gets to do with her body. At one point, she looked at Trump directly and said, “You want to talk about what people wanted?” She then continued, “A 12 or 13-year-old survivor of incest, being forced to carry a pregnancy to term? They don’t want that.” She then expressed her support for reinstating the protections of Roe v. Wade, and this was battled with Trump saying that she could bring it to Congress, but it would never be approved.
Another memorable debate moment is when Trump made a baseless claim about immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. Trump argues that the U.S. is allowing millions of immigrants to come into the country and that towns are embarrassed by this; he then claimed “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs — the people that came in — they’re eating the cats,” he continued, “They’re eating the pets of people that live there.” This moment spoke for itself and was very quickly corrected by the moderators.
In many other moments, we see Trump having to be reminded of his timeliness by the moderators. We also see him make more false statements, such as how Harris plans to take everyone’s guns away — which Harris quickly shuts down. Harris is seen also having to remind Trump that he is running against her, not Biden.
Despite Trump’s shortcomings during the debate, Harris should not be glamorized or painted victorious off the bat. Her performance was strong, not flawless, but stable and consistent — which was not a strength Trump was equipped with. For the first question, Harris was asked if Americans are better off economically than they were four years ago. She never directly answered the question, but she went on to say she wants an “opportunity economy,” with this, she stated her plans to offer a $50,000 tax deduction to small businesses and increase the child tax credit to $6,000. Harris failed to answer the question — and although her redirect can be seen as strategic, it came off as avoidant. It is no secret that the American economy has suffered greatly, especially in the last four years.
According to the Consumer Price Index, the average inflation rate was 4.7% in 2021, 8.0% in 2022, 4.1% in 2023 and 3.0% as of June 2024. If the economy is already struggling with inflation, how is she going to support an “opportunity economy” with tax credits and deductions? Where would this money be coming from?
The presidential debate was more entertaining than informative, as usual. Trump and Harris are candidates appealing to two completely different audiences with nearly opposite perspectives, but Harris used her strengths and Trump’s weaknesses to win over many uncertain prospective voters. Despite some flaws, she remained confident, and this stunned Trump in obvious ways.
If presidential debates are seen as one big popularity contest, the stumbling candidate who shouted out falsehoods and offensive remarks was not the winner. Even among many who share the belief that both candidates would be a poor choice, it is clear as day who won this debate — who ultimately won her audience over. Sometimes all it takes is confidence, and simply letting one’s opponent talk, especially if what they are saying is nonsense.
