Donald Trump and Kamala Harris faced off on Sept. 10 in Philadelphia, marking a pivotal debate between the two mainstream 2024 presidential nominees. Three primary issues of dispute included the economy, abortion rights and immigration.
The debate, hosted by ABC News, was moderated by reporters Linsey Davis and David Muir. The regulations included two minutes per participant, per question, and one minute for rebuttals. When one candidate spoke, the other candidate’s microphone was muted.
Economy
The candidates discussed the cost of living in the United States. Harris shared her intention to create an “opportunity economy,” that would particularly benefit working middle-class citizens. Some aspects of her plan include a $6,000 tax credit for families and a $50,000 tax deduction for newly established small businesses. Trump accused Harris of being responsible for the struggling economy of the post-pandemic period, as she has served as a high-ranking member of the Biden administration.
“We have inflation like very few people have ever seen before. Probably the worst in our nation’s history. We were at 21%. But that’s being generous because many things are 50, 60, 70, and 80% higher than they were just a few years ago,” said Trump. “This has been a disaster for people, for the middle class, but for every class.”
Harris refuted this by referencing the state of America directly after his presidency.
“Donald Trump left us the worst unemployment since the Great Depression. Donald Trump left us the worst public health epidemic in a century. Donald Trump left us the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War,” said Harris.
Part of Trump’s economic plan involves securing billions of dollars from China by levying heavy tariffs on their imported goods. Harris then accused him of “selling American chips” to China, thereby allowing them to improve their military standing.
Abortion Rights
Trump supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade. According to Davis, he claimed to be the most pro-life president in American history. Trump has since announced that he does believe in exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.
“They have abortion in the ninth month. They even have, and you can look at the [previous] governor of West Virginia… He said the baby will be born and we will decide what to do with the baby. In other words, we’ll execute the baby,” said Trump.
As fact-checked by Davis, there is no state in the US where it is legal to kill a baby post-birth. Trump emphasized that he does not favor a national abortion ban, but rather the decision be made individually by each state.
“It’s the vote of the people now,” said Trump. “It’s not tied up in the federal government. I did a great service in doing it. It took courage to do it. And the Supreme Court had great courage in doing it. And I give tremendous credit to those six justices.”
Harris claimed that the Supreme Court decision criminalized reproductive healthcare in over 20 states without any exceptions for rape or incest.
“Understand what that means. A survivor of a crime, a violation to their body, does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next,” said Harris. “That is immoral.”
Harris also mentioned that couples who want a baby are denied IVF treatment under Trump, and many are forced to travel to receive pregnancy treatment.
“I pledge to you, 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,” said Harris. “But understand, if Donald Trump were to be re-elected, he will sign a national abortion ban.”
Trump denied the allegation that he would sign a national abortion ban, and claimed to be a leader in IVF. He again emphasized that the decision should be made state-by-state.
Immigration
Harris spoke of her experience prosecuting transnational criminal organizations involved in the trafficking of guns, drugs and people as the district attorney of San Francisco. She supports a Congress bill to put 1,500 more agents at the border and accused Trump of having told members of Congress to kill that bill. Trump believes the Biden Administration allowed international criminals to enter the U.S. with ease.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country. And it’s a shame,” said Trump.
According to Muir, the Springfield city manager told ABC News that there were “no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”
Harris shared that she holds the endorsement of 200 Republican politicians, listing members of previous GOP administrations that have since backed her campaign.
“His former chief of staff, a four-star general, has said he has contempt for the constitution of the United States. His former national security adviser has said he is dangerous and unfit. His former secretary of defense has said the nation, the republic, would never survive another Trump term,” said Harris.
Trump defended that point by stating he fired those people “not so graciously” and accused the Biden Administration of never firing anyone regardless of their performance, and implied that the high rate of inflation was due to Biden’s hesitance to dismiss members of his Cabinet.
Harris referenced Trump’s plan regarding the millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. as “the largest domestic deportation operation in the history of our country.” He is willing to use the U.S. military and local police to carry out those efforts. Trump held that crime rates in Latin American countries have declined because their criminals have left for the United States, pointing specifically to Venezuela.
“Millions of people let in. And all over the world crime is down,” said Trump. “All over the world except here. Crime here is up and through the roof, despite their fraudulent statements that they made. Crime in this country is through the roof. And we have a new form of crime. It’s called migrant crime.”
Harris remarked on the irony that Trump was prosecuted for national security crimes, economic crimes and election interference, while adamantly favoring a mass deportation of criminals.
“The former president called for defunding federal law enforcement by 45,000 agents, get this, on the day after he was arraigned on 34 felony counts,” said Harris.
Trump characterized the charges against him as a “weaponization” of the legal system that was intended to prevent him from winning a second term in the White House.
“The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that the former president would essentially be immune from any misconduct if he were to enter the White House again,” said Harris. “Understand, this is someone who has openly said he would terminate, I’m quoting, terminate the Constitution of the United States.”
Closing statements:
“As a prosecutor, I never asked a victim or a witness ‘Are you a Republican or a Democrat?’ The only thing I ever asked them, ‘Are you okay?’ And that’s the kind of president we need right now, someone who cares about you and is not putting themselves first. I intend to be a president for all Americans and focus on what we can do over the next 10 and 20 years to build back up our country by investing right now in you, the American people,” said Harris.
“I rebuilt our entire military. She gave a lot of it away to the Taliban. She gave it to Afghanistan. What these people have done to our country, and maybe toughest of all, is allowing millions of people to come into our country, many of them are criminals, and they’re destroying our country. The worst president, the worst vice president in the history of our country,” said Trump.
Trump has declared that there will be no additional debates, meaning that this debate will likely be the final presidential debate of the cycle. The Vice Presidential debate between Senator of Ohio JD Vance and Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz will be held Oct. 1 in New York City, hosted by CBS News.
