The first presidential debate between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump has quite set the stage for the upcoming November elections, with both battling it out in their classic way.
From abortions to wars to the economy to the housing crisis, Vice President Harris and former president Trump talked about it all.
Interestingly, the debate began with both Harris and Trump shaking hands, ending the eight-year streak of no handshakes on the presidential debate stage.
The event hosted by ABC News on Sep 10 has significantly changed perspectives since the last debate in June that happened between the previous Democrat candidate and current US President Joe Biden and Trump.
Highlights of the debate
While Harris appeared confident and well-prepared leveraging her prosecutorial skills, Trump resorted to falsehoods and conspiracies to try and outshine Harris.
On being asked about the state of the country's economy, Harris said, “So, I was raised as a middle-class kid...And that is why I imagine and have actually a plan to build what I call an opportunity economy.”
"We know that we have a shortage of homes and housing, and the cost of housing is too expensive for far too many people. We know that young families need support to raise their children. And I intend on extending a tax cut for those families of $6,000, which is the largest child tax credit that we have given in a long time. So that those young families can afford to buy a crib, buy a car seat, buy clothes for their children," she continued.
Harris further took a jibe on her opponent saying, “ My opponent, on the other hand, plans to do what he has done before, which is to provide a tax cut for billionaires and big corporations, which will result in $5 trillion to America's deficit.”
"My opponent has a plan that I call the Trump sales tax, which would be a 20% tax on everyday goods that you rely on to get through the month. Economists have said that Trump's sales tax would result for middle-class families in about $4,000 more a year because of his policies and his ideas about what should be the backs of middle-class people paying for tax cuts for billionaires," she added.
Trump in his defensive fashion argued, “First of all, I have no sales tax. That's an incorrect statement. She knows that. 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. And the tariff will be substantial in some cases.”
As the debate gained momentum, Trump began targeting Harris on the Biden administration's record on immigration to which she responded, “You're going to hear from the same old tired playbook, a bunch of lies, grievances and name-calling.”
"Let's talk about what Donald Trump left us. Donald Trump left us worst unemployment since the great depression. Donald Trump left us the worst public health epidemic in a century. Donald Trump left us the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War. And what we have done is clean up Donald Trump's mess," she added.
Trump even made some personal attacks calling her and her father a "Marxist". "She is a Marxist. Her father was a Marxist." Harris was seen smiling throughout. The former President complained that he did not get enough credit for the "great job" during the Covid pandemic. "We did a phenomenal job with the pandemic," Trump said.
Talking about abortion, Harris said that Trump would ban it if he won the election.
Responding to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Harris called for a two-state solution while stressing support for Israel. Trump, however, pompously argued that the situation would have never reached this point if he was President.
Trump kept on bringing up the failures of the Biden administration, to which Harris replied that he was not running against Biden.
At one point, Trump even questioned Harris's racial identity. While Trump stated that she is not "Black", Harris called it a "tragedy" that Trump used racial identity to divide Americans. Harris said that she represents a new generation of leadership.
Who fared well
A CNN poll of debate watchers conducted by SSRS, an independent research firm, found out that American voters broadly agree that Vice President Kamala Harris outshined Donald Trump during the presidential debate on Sep 10.
Viewers of the debate voted in favour of Harris, 63% to 37%, saying she performed better, a media report said.
Before the debate, a poll by The New York Times and Siena College had shown both candidates were neck-and-neck in the race. Afterwards, 96% of Harris supporters who watched the debate said that their candidate had done a better job, while only 69% of Trump supporters said he did better, it said.
While Trump in an interview said it was his "best debate", the polls showed otherwise. It is to be noted that these polls represent the views of only those who watched the debate and not the full voting public.
After the debate, the 59-year-old vice president was also endorsed by pop star Taylor Swift.
Biden-Trump Vs Trump-Harris
In June, after Joe Biden and Donald Trump faced off in a Presidential debate, the polls showed 67% to 33%, that Trump outperformed his opponent.
Shortly after the debate, many believed that the fight was over even before it started. During the debate, the 81-year-old US President forgot what he was saying multiple times while speaking on important subjects.
Back then, Trump got several instances to mock his delirious state. But on Sep 10, 78-year-old Trump faced a more coherent opponent.
Nearly two decades younger than Trump, Harris did not miss an opportunity to showcase that by saying, “What I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country.”
Despite multiple attempts by Team Trump to push and tie her to the Biden administration's failure, Harris stressed that it's time to "turn the page".
"I'm clearly not Joe Biden and certainly not Donald Trump. And what I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country, one who believes in what is possible. One who brings a sense of optimism about what we can do instead of always disparaging the American people," she said.
Surprising turns ahead of polls
The run-up to the November 5 US presidential elections has seen some major twists and turns. While Trump suffered an assassination attempt on July 13 at an open-air campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania, Biden withdrew his nomination and endorsed Harris instead. President Biden was diagnosed with covid-19 on July 18 for the third time.
