In their first TV duel, US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump gave each other nothing. And at the end Harris promises another exchange of blows.
The two US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump made sharp attacks on each other in their first TV duel. They accused each other of running the country down, of having no plan for the pressing problems and of spreading lies. Trump repeatedly referred to Harris as a “radical leftist” and “Marxist.” The Democrat, in turn, said several times that her opponent doesn’t care about the needs of citizens and is only interested in putting others down.
It was the first time that Harris and Trump met face to face – and this was probably the most important showdown between the two before the election on November 5th. For 90 minutes, the Democratic vice president and the Republican former president debated top issues of the election campaign such as economic and migration policy, abortion and foreign policy. While Harris tried to spread a hopeful message of a reunited country in the debate, Trump painted the image of the decline of the United States and a “failed state.”
When they first met on stage, the two shook hands. The Democrat approached the Republican and introduced herself as “Kamala Harris” in the event hall in Philadelphia. After that, they both immediately went into attack mode.
The USA is in a disastrous state – and who is to blame?
Harris lamented that Trump had left the country in a disastrous state in 2021, with the worst unemployment since the Great Depression, the worst public health epidemic in a century and the worst attack on American democracy since the Civil War. “And what we’ve done is clean up Donald Trump’s mess.”
Trump, in turn, complained that Harris and US President Joe Biden had plunged the country into the abyss during their time in office. “We have a nation that is dying,” he said. In response to various questions, the Republican brought up the topic of migration and accused the Biden and Harris administration of allowing millions upon millions of migrants and criminals to enter the country uncontrolled. “They have destroyed the structure of our country.” Trump even accused migrants of eating pets. “In Springfield they eat the dogs – the people who came here – they eat the cats. They eat the pets of the people who live there,” he claimed without any evidence.
Who is lying to whom here?
Harris accused Trump of wanting tax cuts for the rich and not caring about ordinary Americans. She appealed to citizens to see for themselves at one of his election campaign appearances. “I’m going to do something really unusual and call on you to attend one of Donald Trump’s rallies,” the Democrat said to the audience. Trump spreads absurd claims there, such as that windmills cause cancer. “The only thing you won’t hear him talk about is you.” Trump has no plan for the people of the country. Trump retorted angrily that people didn’t even go to Harris’ campaign events.
Trump accused his opponent of having no plan for economic policy and of being a Marxist. “She has destroyed our country with policies that are insane,” said the former US president. The two also accused each other of lying several times. Harris complained that Trump was playing the same old tired script and spreading a “bunch of lies, complaints and insults.” The Americans are tired of this. She repeatedly called on the country to turn a new leaf, to look forward and to address the needs of the American people.
Harris also said she traveled the world as vice president and world leaders laughed at Trump. She also spoke to senior military officials, some of whom worked with the Republican. “And they say: You are a disgrace.”
Test for Kamala Harris
It was broadcast from a studio without an audience in Philadelphia, the largest city in the particularly politically contentious state of Pennsylvania. The two politicians were on their own on stage: cheat sheets were not allowed, nor was contact with the respective team. During the debate, the microphone of the candidate who was not speaking was muted.
The duel, which was organized by the ABC broadcaster, was a test, especially for Harris. The 59-year-old replaced President Biden as the Democratic candidate just a few weeks ago and has so far appeared mainly in strictly choreographed campaign appearances in which her team had everything under control. In the debate against Trump, she now had to prove herself without a script.
Trump, on the other hand, has already taken part in various television debates, including in his previous election campaigns in 2016 and 2020. The 78-year-old emerged as the clear winner from his most recent TV duel at the end of June. At that time he was still running against Biden, who withdrew from the presidential race after his disastrous performance and left the field to Harris.
Head-to-head racing
Harris and Trump are roughly tied in polls. Both are trying to win over undecided voters in particular. In a recent survey, 28 percent of respondents said they didn’t know enough about Harris – for Trump, this figure was 9 percent. While most people in the US are clear about what to expect from the Republican, Harris and her positions are unknown to far more people. During the debate, she tried to expand her substantive goals – including her flagship topic, abortion.
“The government, and certainly Donald Trump, should certainly not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” said Harris, promising that if she wins the election, she would want to enshrine the right to abortion in law. To do this, Harris would need a corresponding majority in Congress.
Various foreign policy issues – the Middle East, Ukraine, China, Afghanistan – were also discussed. Here the two mainly repeated familiar positions.
Is there more to come?
There had been a long wrangling in advance about the date for the television debate. Immediately after the end of the TV duel, the Democrat’s campaign team invited her Republican opponent to a second debate. US citizens could have seen on Tuesday evening what choice they would face in November – and should have another opportunity to do so in October, the Harris team explained.
“Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is it Donald Trump?” the statement said.
However, no date has yet been agreed for another duel. Next it’s the turn of the running mate: Tim Walz and JD Vance will meet on October 1st to exchange blows.
