Kamala Harris And Donald Trump began his conversation, and he struck the first blow.
Asked by moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis in the ABC debate if the country was better off than it was four years ago, the vice president said she “grew up as a girl in a middle-class family,” she wants to reach out to those voters, she wants to tackle the housing shortage, and she’s “passionate” about small businesses. Trump’s planHe said his goal is to cut taxes for his billionaire friends and big companies.
Debate challenge: Pressure is on Kamala as she and Trump hurl accusations at each other
The former President began his speech by talking about the tariffs imposed on China.
But soon he began personal attacks. “Everything she believed in four years ago is Marxist.”
And: “She hates Israel.” If she wins, “Israel will cease to exist in two years.”
Trump also said Joe BidenWithout any proof, “He hates her. He can’t stand her.”
US Vice President Kamala Harris and former US President Donald Trump are pictured during the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Tuesday, September 10, 2024. (Getty Images)
Trump pushed a completely debunked rumor that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, are “eating dogs, they’re eating pets.” Muir said the city manager confirmed there were no such reports.
Trump appeared even angrier during the debate, and Harris once laughed at him. She kept looking at Trump and the camera from time to time, but Trump barely looked at her.
“We’ve done a phenomenal job handling the pandemic,” Trump said, which is a point of debate.
Harris became most excited when asked about abortion and declared that Trump would sign a national abortion ban.
How can Trump or Kamala win when all sides are unanimous in the debate
“You’re going to hear a litany of lies,” the vice president said. “Pregnant women were being denied emergency care, a 12-year-old incest victim was being forced to give birth to a baby in her womb.”
Trump said, as he told me at Mar-a-Lago, that “every legal scholar” wants the abortion issue returned to the states. That’s not true.
Trump said Democrats They are radical because they support abortion up to the ninth month, and they have cited the former governor of Virginia’s idiotic comment about making decisions after birth, which is illegal.
“That’s a big statement to make by somebody who has been found responsible for sexual assault,” Harris said, referring to the E. Jean Carroll case and various prosecutions.
Republican presidential nominee, former US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris greet during the first presidential election campaign debate at the National Constitution Center on September 10, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
In an oft-repeated accusation, Trump said it’s because the administration has “armed” law enforcement against him. “They’re the ones who put them after me,” he said, without offering any evidence.
In another accusation without evidence, the former president accused Harris of “paying people” to attend his rallies.
Referring to the assassination attempt, Trump said, “I probably got shot in the head because of his rhetoric.” He then added “Russia Russia Russia” — an acronym that might have surprised casual viewers.
Harris also said things that weren’t true. She said she made it clear in 2020 that she wasn’t against fracking, but what she really said was that Biden wouldn’t ban fracking. She said he threatened a “bloodbath” if he lost, but he actually said that about the American auto industry.
Trump, Kamala move toward middle ground with varying degrees of success
ABC pressed Trump about January 6 and asked why he didn’t make a video earlier telling protesters to go home. They said what was left out was that in his speech he told protesters to be “peaceful and patriotic.”
Harris responded that Trump “incited a violent mob” in which 150 law enforcement officers were injured, and “some died.”
The ABC pressed Harris on her past opposition to fracking and the abolition of private health insurance, but she stuck to varying versions of “my values haven’t changed.”
On another key issue, ABC asked twice: “Do you want Ukraine to win this war?” Trump did not say yes. “I want the war to stop,” he said. “I think it’s in America’s best interest that this war ends, that there’s a settlement.”
US Vice President Kamala Harris (Right) and former US President Donald Trump during the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Tuesday, September 10, 2024. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Harris responded: “If Donald Trump were president, Putin will be sitting He said he had met with Volodymyr Zelensky a few days before the invasion to share US intelligence.
My scorecard:
Kamala Harris did everything she could to ignore Trump’s attacks, stand her ground, and attack him repeatedly, while also maintaining her composure.
Trump put up a strong performance and landed several blows, but Harris troubled him more.
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ABC took a stance against Trump, with the network asking more tough questions, doing more follow-ups, doing more fact-checking, and making more corrections. This proved Trump’s criticism of ABC as the “worst” network correct.
Now the partisan spinning has begun in earnest.
