Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump had their first debate on Tuesday, September 10th, contesting issues such as immigration, abortion, and the ongoing wars. This was also the first time the two of them met, and with the election just under two months away, this debate is a crucial moment for both of their campaigns.
The debate took place in Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center, in a quiet studio containing only the candidates and two moderators, David Muir and Lindsey Davis. The rules were outlined clearly: two minutes for answers and one for follow-ups/rebuttals. Also, the other candidate’s microphone was to be turned off when one was speaking.
The first subject of the night was the economy, a topic that is a major concern for most voters. Both candidates proposed plans to fix the economy and the cost of housing. Harris has plans to afford a tax cut to small businesses and new families, while Trump spoke of imposing tariffs on other countries to earn back the money America has lost to them. An important topic brought up by Harris during this conversation was Project 2025, a plan rumored to be the blueprint for Trump’s presidency.
“What you’re going to hear tonight is a detailed and dangerous plan called Project 2025 that the former president intends on implementing if he were elected again,” says Harris.
According to Project 2025’s official website, it is a plan to take power away from the ‘deep state’ and give it back to the American people. The creators say Donald Trump is not involved with this plan, which is an effort by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, DC. This is a controversial topic, as many believe Trump may be behind the plan, mainly because the leaders, Paul Dans and Spencer Chretien, were former Trump administration officials.
“I have nothing to do with Project 2025. That’s out there. I haven’t read it. I don’t want to read it, purposely,” says Trump.
The issue of abortion was another heated topic on the debate stage Tuesday night. Davis questioned Trump on his inconsistent stance on reproductive rights and how he was an outspoken supporter of the overturning of Roe v. Wade yet still assures his presidency will be great for reproductive rights. Trump also changed his stance on whether or not the 6-week abortion ban was enough time.
Trump stated the reason he supported Roe v. Wade was because he believed people were doing abortions in the ninth month. He says these ninth-month abortions are happening in Virginia and points the issue at Tim Walz, Harris’s vice presidential pick.
“But her vice presidential pick says abortion in the ninth month is absolutely fine,” says Trump. “He also says execution after birth, it’s execution, no longer abortion, because the baby is born, is okay. And that’s not okay with me.”
Davis fact-checked Trump following this comment, who confirmed it was illegal in any state to terminate a baby after its birth.
Aside from this false claim, Trump said he believes in exceptions for rape, incest, and health of the mother. However, later on, he did not give a clear answer on whether or not he would veto a national abortion ban. Harris, who is pro-choice, followed up with a rebuttal.
“A survivor of a crime, a violation to their body, does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next. 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,” says Harris.
Another heated moment was when moderator David Muir brought up immigration. Harris mentioned a border security bill that she supported, legislation that Trump prevented.
“That bill would have put more resources to allow us to prosecute transnational criminal organizations for trafficking in guns, drugs and human beings,” says Harris.
Trump did not take a stance on why he killed the bill. Still, he argued his reasoning as to why the border needs to close, correlating the open border to the criminal activity happening in America.
“A lot of towns don’t want to talk about it because they’re so embarrassed by it. In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating — 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,” says Trump.
Trump was fact-checked immediately by Muir, who said ABC News contacted the Springfield city manager and verified that there were no credible reports of any harm to pets in the community.
The debate was brought to the issue of how to deport people who illegally crossed the border. Muir mentioned how Trump had said in the past that he would be open to using the U.S. military, but Trump’s response was unclear.
“They allowed people to come in, drug dealers, to come into our country, and they’re now in the United States. And told by their countries like Venezuela don’t ever come back or we’re going to kill you. Do you know that crime in Venezuela and crime in countries all over the world is way down? You know why? Because they’ve taken their criminals off the street and they’ve given them to her to put into our country,” says Trump.
Trump continued to speak about the criminals and their violent crimes committed to the U.S., to which Harris responded by talking about Trump’s own criminal charges.
“I think this is so rich. Coming from someone who has been prosecuted for national security crimes, economic crimes, election interference, has been found liable for sexual assault and his next big court appearance is in November at his own criminal sentencing,” says Harris.
According to AP News, in May of 2024, Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree related to several payments made to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. His sentencing date is set for November 26, 2024.
Harris caught under fire later that night when Davis addressed her wavering stance on fracking, assault weapons, and border crossings.
“I will not ban fracking. And my focus then, on protecting women and children from violent crime, is based on a value that is deeply grounded in the importance of standing up for those who are most vulnerable. My values have not changed,” says Harris.
The next question was directly geared towards Trump, asking if he would have done anything differently on January 6, 2021 and if he regretted anything. He denied playing a part in the violence that took place that day and confirmed only the fact that he made a speech. The topic was then, again, a question only for Trump, about whether he stood by his statement that he never lost the 2020 presidential election.
“Look, there’s so much proof. All you have to do is look at it. And they should have sent it back to the legislatures for approval,” says Trump.
Finally, the rest of the debate was primarily spent on the ongoing wars outside the US.
“What we know is that {the Israel-Hamas} war must end. It must end immediately, and the way it will end is we need a cease-fire deal, and we need the hostages out,” says Kamala.
Again, Trump’s stance on this was unclear, but he had some insight into the situation. However, when asked repeatedly, he did not verify whether or not he wanted Ukraine to win the war. All he did say was that if he were president, it never would have started.
“I know Putin very well. He would have never — and there was no threat of it either, by the way, for four years,” says Trump.
After the debate, several celebrities came out in support of Harris, namely Taylor Swift. She took to Instagram and posted that she would be casting her vote in favor of Harris. She also mentioned that an AI image of her was posted to Donald Trump’s site falsely endorsing his presidential run.
“It really conjured up my fears about AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation. It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth,” says Swift.
On Thursday, September 12 there were several new developments related to the debate events. At a rally in North Carolina, Harris spoke to the people and communicated her desire to have another presidential debate, as she felt it was owed to the voters of America. It is still unconfirmed whether or not there will be another one. Trump has come out in opposition to this, claiming it was his best debate, and that she only wants the second debate because she lost.
Without the confirmation of a third debate, the vice presidential debate will remain on Tuesday, October 1st, and the presidential election will be on Tuesday, November 5th.
