Harris vs Trump Debate 2024
Harris and Trump trade barbs in what could be the only presidential debate
In a highly anticipated presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump engaged in intense discussions on critical issues such as the economy, abortion rights, immigration, and international conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas situation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Harris highlighted Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election, while Trump dismissed the results, creating a combative atmosphere that challenged the debate moderators’ control. With national polls showing a tight race—Trump leading Harris 48% to 47% overall, but Harris gaining an edge in key battleground states—the debate is crucial for both candidates to sway undecided voters.
Harris, who could become the first woman and first person of South Asian descent to serve as president, faces pressure to enhance her public image as she leads Trump by a slim margin in several polls following President Biden’s endorsement of her candidacy.
Key Concepts
- The first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump occurred at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
- Key issues discussed in the debate included the U.S. economy, women’s abortion rights, immigration, and international conflicts.
- Harris highlighted Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, emphasizing that he was “fired by 81 million voters.”
- Trump dismissed the 2020 election results and made sarcastic remarks about his narrow loss.
- The debate featured a combative atmosphere, with both candidates reacting strongly to each other’s arguments.
- This debate is significant as it may be the only one of the election cycle, occurring just weeks before Election Day.
- Harris currently leads Trump by 2 to 3 percentage points in several national polls following Biden’s endorsement.
- A recent poll shows that Trump leads Harris nationally by 48% to 47%, but she has an advantage in key battleground states.
- Harris faces pressure to effectively present herself to the public, with many voters indicating they need to know more about her.
- If elected, Kamala Harris would be the first woman and the first individual of South Asian descent to become U.S. president.
Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump had never met before Tuesday night’s presidential debate, but they immediately went toe-to-toe in a crucial debate showdown ahead of the national election on Nov. 5.
Before the debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia began, the two candidates shook hands, took their positions behind podiums on the stage, and then began to attack each other.
They engaged in heated debates on the U.S. economy, American women’s abortion rights, immigration issues at the U.S.-Mexico border, Israel’s war against Hamas militants in Gaza, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, when Congress announced that Trump lost the 2020 election.
“Donald Trump was fired by 81 million voters. It’s going to be hard for him to accept that,” Harris said of Trump’s loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Trump recently said he lost the election “narrowly,” but on the debate stage on Tuesday he said that was a sarcastic comment and refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the 2020 election results.
The two candidates stood close together, shaking their heads at each other’s arguments, with Harris almost laughing at some of Trump’s comments. ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis tried hard, sometimes in vain, to control the tempo of the duel.
Tens of millions of Americans are likely watching what may be the only debate of this presidential election, a showdown that takes place eight weeks before Election Day but just days before early voting begins in some of the 50 states.
On the debate stage, Harris and Trump debated under the same rules as Trump’s June debate with Biden, when Biden performed poorly, leading to the end of his reelection campaign a month later as he fell behind Trump in national polls.
Trump and Harris’ microphones were muted while the other spoke, and they were not allowed to ask each other questions. But that didn’t stop them from interrupting each other. There were no spectators at the debate. This was Harris’ first presidential debate. For Trump, it was his seventh debate in three presidential election cycles since 2016.
National polls show a tight race, adding to the importance of the debate and for both candidates to do their best to sway the small number of undecided voters. At stake is whether Trump returns to the White House after losing reelection to Biden in 2020 or whether Harris can make another step forward as Biden’s running mate.
When Biden abandoned his reelection bid and endorsed Harris as his successor, Democrats rallied behind Harris’ candidacy. While Biden trailed Trump at the end of the campaign, Harris led Trump by 2 to 3 percentage points in multiple national polls.
However, a New York Times-Siena College poll released Sunday showed Trump leading 48-47% nationally, though the paper said Harris had a slight lead in an average of multiple polls in three key battleground states: Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. The two candidates were tied in four other key states: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina.
The seven hotly contested states are expected to play an outsize role in determining the outcome of the election because the United States does not choose the president and vice president by a national popular vote.
Instead, the election is a 50-state contest, with the winner of all but two states casting all of their votes in the Electoral College for either Harris and her vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz, or Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance. Each state’s Electoral College votes are based on population, so the most populous states have the most influence.
The stakes are particularly high for Harris in the debate in which she will introduce herself to the American public, with 28% of respondents saying they need to know more about her, while just 9% said the same about Trump, the Times-Siena poll showed.
Trump, 78, has at times on the campaign trail seemed eager to take on Biden, 81. He has yet to launch a sustained attack on Harris, 59, even though he attacked her in response to every question posed by the ABC anchor on debate night.
If elected, Harris would be the first woman and first person of South Asian descent to serve as U.S. president and only the second Black president after Barack Obama.