Kamala Harris or Donald J. Trump? That question was answered for many on September 10, 2024, during the presidential debate on ABC. This was a significant moment in the election because it marked the first debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump and possibly the last. Days before the debate, people were skeptical that Harris would hold up to Trump because this was her first debate. Did she? Many think that Harris came out prepared and exceeded expectations. There were many key moments and takeaways from this debate.
The night began with Harris going over to Trump’s podium to give a handshake. The ABC News moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis started by asking a series of questions about their tax and economic policies. Trump attacked the current administration of President Joe Biden and VP Harris and the things they promised but didn’t achieve. Muir asked, “Why did you try to kill that bill and successfully so, that would’ve put thousands of additional agents and officers on the border?” to which Trump responded, “What they have done to our country by allowing these millions and millions of people to come into our country. Look at what’s happening to the towns all over the United States.”
One of the key takeaways from this debate is their views on abortion and immigration. Harris was firm on making abortion legal, while Donald Trump said he wanted to take the decision to the states. Harris said, “I pledge to you [that] when Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protections of Roe v. Wade as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.”
Harris attacked the Trump administration, Project 2025, and his felony charges. When addressing Trump killing an immigration bill, Harris said, “Understand, this comes at a time where the people of our country actually need a leader who engages in solutions, who actually addresses the problems at hand.” Trump denied being a part of Project 2025, “I have nothing to do, as you know, and as she knows better than anyone, 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. I’m not going to read it. This was a group of people that got together, they came up with some ideas. I guess some good, some bad.”
Another key point from the debate was Trump’s claims. He made many claims such as Harris being a Marxist and immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are “eating the cats and dogs which are both untrue.” Trump also keeps denying that he lost the 2020 election. Because of this, Trump got fact-checked more times than Harris and many Republicans including Trump, felt that the moderators were on Harris’ side. Trump’s comments about abortion stuck with many people so when asked, “Were there any particular moments or statements from the debate that stood out to you?” Sophomore Nelson Severiano Soler said, “The stuff that Trump would say about abortion stood out to me because he was saying very drastic things that were untrue just to fearmonger.”
Overall, most people felt like there weren’t enough policies talked about. When asked, “What topics do you wish the candidates had spent more time discussing?” Sophomore Mehr Kapoor replied, “I wish they talked more about their specific plans and future policies. The majority of what they talked about was their stance on controversial topics and their morals and values but those are already pretty well known as both candidates align pretty well with clear-cut Democratic and Republican morals.” This reflects a common complaint from the viewers who felt like the candidates spent too much time attacking each other, rather than showing policies.
