PHILADELPHIA: Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris put Republican Donald Trump on the defensive at a combative presidential debate on Tuesday.
Democrative Vice President Kamala Harris conducted a stream of attacks on Donald Trump on abortion limits, his fitness for office and his myriad legal woes, as both candidates sought a campaign-altering moment in their closely fought election.
A former prosecutor, Harris, 59, appeared to get under the former president’s skin repeatedly, prompting a visibly angry Trump, 78, to deliver a series of falsehood-filled retorts.
At one point, she brought up Trump’s campaign rallies, goading him by saying that people often leave early “out of exhaustion and boredom.”
Trump, said, “My rallies, we have the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics.” He then pivoted to an unsubstantiated claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are “eating the pets” of residents.
“Talk about extreme,” Harris said, laughing.
The candidates clashed over issues such as immigration, foreign policy and healthcare, but the debate was light on specific policy details.
Instead, Harris’ forceful approach succeeded in putting the focus on Trump, leaving her allies jubilant and some Republicans acknowledging Trump’s struggles.
In a sign of confidence in the debate’s outcome, Harris’ campaign challenged Trump to a second debate immediately.
Trump, quickly became agitated under Harris’ offensive.
Trump was asked by the moderators about one of those attacks, when he told an event with Black journalists in July that Harris had recently “become a Black person.”
“I couldn’t care less,” he said. “Whatever she wants to be is OK with me.”
Harris responded, “I think it’s a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be president who has consistently over the course of his career attempted to use race to divide the American people.”
She criticized Trump over his criminal conviction for covering up hush money payments to a porn star as well as his other indictments and a civil judgment finding him liable for sexual assault.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and again accused Harris and the Democrats of orchestrating all of the cases without evidence.
Trump also repeated his false claim that his 2020 election defeat was due to fraud, called Harris a “Marxist” and asserted falsely that migrants have caused a violent crime spree.
The debate got under way at 9pm ET with a surprise handshake between the two opponents, who had never met before. Harris approached Trump at his lectern, introducing herself by name, in what was the first handshake at a presidential debate since 2016..
Harris delivered a lengthy attack on abortion limits, speaking passionately about women denied emergency care and victims of incest unable to terminate their pregnancies due to statewide bans that have proliferated since the US Supreme Court eliminated a nationwide right in 2022. Three Trump appointees were in the majority of that ruling.
She also claimed Trump would support a national ban. Trump called that assertion untrue but declined to say explicitly that he would veto such a law.
Trump said falsely that Harris and Democrats support infanticide, which – as ABC News moderator Linsey Davis noted — is illegal in every state.
Harris also sought to tie Trump to Project 2025, a conservative policy blueprint that proposes expanding executive power, eliminating environmental regulations and making it illegal to ship abortion pills across state lines, among other right-wing goals.
Trump retorted that he has “nothing to do” with Project 2025, though some of his advisers were involved in its creation.
The candidates opened the debate by focusing on the economy, an issue that opinion polls show favors Trump.
Harris attacked Trump’s intention to impose high tariffs on foreign goods — a proposal she has likened to a sales tax on the middle class – while touting her plan to offer tax benefits to families and small businesses.
Trump criticized Harris for the persistent inflation during the Biden administration’s term, though he overstated the level of price increases. Inflation, he said, “has been a disaster for people, for the middle class, for every class.”
The candidates also exchanged barbs over the Israel-Gaza war and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, though neither offered specifics on how they would seek to end each conflict.
Harris accused Trump of being willing to abandon U.S. support for Ukraine to curry favor with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling Trump a “disgrace,” while Trump claimed Harris “hates” Israel – an assertion she rejected.
Presidential debates do not necessarily change voters’ minds, but they can be deeply consequential.
The debate, hosted by ABC News, took place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
