PHILADELPHIA, Sept 10 (Askume) – Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris put Republican Donald Trump on the defensive in a fiery presidential debate on Tuesday , launching a series of attacks on his abortion coverage, his qualifications for office and multiple legal troubles as both candidates try to transform their campaigns in a heated election.
Harris, 59, a former prosecutor, repeatedly appeared to attack the former president, provoking a visibly angry Trump, 78, who responded with a series of falsehoods.
At one point, he referred to Trump’s election rallies and berated him by saying that people often leave early “due to fatigue and boredom.”
Trump was disappointed with Harris’ own crowd, saying: “My rally was the largest rally in the history of our politics, the most incredible rally.” He then cited an unfounded conspiracy theory, claiming Haitian immigrants to Springfield are “eating” Ohio residents’ pets.
“Talk about extremes,” Harris said, laughing.
Harris criticized Trump for his criminal conviction for bribing porn stars, as well as other convictions and civil sentences holding him accountable for sexual assault. Trump denied wrongdoing and again accused Harris and the Democrats of making up all the cases without evidence.
Trump also repeated his false claims that his 2020 election defeat was due to fraud, called Harris a “Marxist” and falsely claimed that immigrants fueled a wave of violent crime.
With eight weeks until the Nov. 5 election and just days before early voting begins in some states, this debate — the only scheduled debate — presents opportunities and risks for each candidate in front of millions of television voters.
The candidates began the debate on economic issues, which polls show favor Trump.
Harris attacked Trump’s intention to impose high tariffs on foreign goods – a proposal she compared to imposing a sales tax on the middle class – while announcing a plan to provide tax breaks for families and small businesses.
“Donald Trump gave us the worst unemployment rate since the Great Depression,” Harris said of his presidency from 2017 to 2021. The unemployment rate peaked at 14.8% in April 2020 before he left office. The rate was much higher than during the Great Recession.
Trump criticized Harris for keeping inflation in check during the Biden administration, even as she exaggerated the level of price increases. He immediately focused on his top issue, immigration, claiming again without evidence that migrants from “insane asylums” were crossing the southern US border with Mexico.
He said, “Inflation is a disaster for the people, for the middle class, for every section.”
Shaking hands with surprise
Debate with opponents begins at 9 p.m. ET (Wednesday 0100 GMT)Handshake with two people who have never met before. Harris addressed Trump by his first name during her speech, which was their first handshake at a presidential debate since 2016.
This meeting is particularly important for Harris because polls show that more than a quarter of likely voters think they don’t know her well. Harris hasThe election begins seven weeks before President Joe Biden leaves office.
Harris launched a lengthy attack on abortion limits, speaking passionately about right-wing statewide bans that left women denied emergency care and victims of incest unable to terminate their pregnancies because they were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. It was struck down across the country. Three Trump appointees made up the majority of the decision.
He also claimed Trump would support a nationwide ban, which Trump said was a lie.
Trump has at times struggled to get his message across on abortion, having falsely claimed that Harris and Democrats support infanticide, which, as host Lindsey Davis noted, is illegal in every state.
“Like I said, you’re going to hear a lot of lies,” Harris said.
Harris also sought to link Trump to Project 2025 , a conservative policy blueprint that seeks to expand executive power, roll back environmental regulations and make it illegal to transport abortion pills across state lines, among other right-wing goals.
Trump responded by saying he had “nothing to do” with Plan 2025, even though some of his advisers were involved in its creation.
The two candidates have also sparred over the Israel-Gaza war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, though neither has explained how they want to end each conflict.
Harris accused Trump of being willing to abandon U.S. support for Ukraine in favor of Russian President Vladimir Putin and called Trump a “deplorable,” while Trump claimed Harris “hates” Israel.
First meeting
Trump, who for weeks has launched personal attacks against Harris, including racist and sexist slurs , refrained from insults at the start of the debate but appeared angered by Harris’s aggressive attacks.
Trump’s advisers and fellow Republicans have urged him to focus on inflation and high immigration levels during Biden’s presidency, even though both have fallen sharply this year.
Presidential debates don’t necessarily change voters’ minds, but they can change the dynamics of a campaign. Biden’s poor performance against Trump in June led him to quit the campaign on July 21.
In a race that once again will be fought over thousands of votes in a handful of states, even a slight shift in public opinion could alter the outcome. According to an average of polls compiled by The New York Times, the two candidates are roughly tied in the seven battleground states that will decide the election.
The 90-minute debate was hosted by ABC News and held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. At the time of the campaign’s decision, there was no live audience and the candidates’ microphones were muted when it was their turn to speak.
