6 key takeaways from the primary Harris-Trump presidential debate

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump clashed of their first presidential debate Tuesday in Philadelphia, lower than two months earlier than Election Day.

Heading into the talk, Harris appeared to have extra to achieve — and extra to lose. A New York Times/Siena College poll discovered that 28% mentioned they “must study extra about Kamala Harris,” in contrast with simply 9% who mentioned the identical about Trump. General, Trump led Harris by 1 level amongst doubtless voters, with 5% not sure or not backing both.

The talk coated a variety of points and featured a collection of intense exchanges between the 2 bitter rivals. Harris introduced herself as a practical problem-solver and diminished Trump as a wannabe dictator who cannot maintain his rally crowds engaged. Trump attacked Harris as a radical and steadily returned to his theme of criticizing migration, typically veering into conspiracy theories.

Listed here are six key takeaways from the talk.

Harris leans in rapidly on decreasing prices

Harris used the primary query to lean into her plan for an “alternative economic system,” looking for to cut into Trump’s advantage on the issue with swing voters by presenting herself because the candidate of the center class whereas calling Trump a company tax-cutter.

“I used to be raised as a middle-class child, and I’m really the one particular person on this stage who has a plan that’s about lifting up the center class and dealing folks of America,” Harris mentioned. “We all know that we have now a scarcity of houses and housing, and the price of housing is just too costly for a lot too many individuals. We all know that younger households want help to boost their kids, and I intend on extending a tax minimize for these households of $6,000, which is the biggest youngster tax credit score that we have now given in a very long time, in order that these younger households can afford to purchase a crib, purchase a automotive seat, purchase garments for his or her kids.”

Trump blasted the Biden-Harris economic system, saying, “I’ve by no means seen a worse time frame.” He additionally defended his tariff plans and referred to as Harris “a Marxist,” at the same time as he accused her of copying his insurance policies: “I used to be going to ship her a MAGA hat.”

Each candidates search the mantle of change

Within the opening minutes, each rivals sought to claim the mantle of change in a rustic stuffed with voters who’re hungry for it.

“On this debate tonight, you’re going to listen to from the identical previous, drained playbook: a bunch of lies, grievances and name-calling,” Harris mentioned of Trump. “What you’re going to listen to tonight is an in depth and harmful plan referred to as Venture 2025 that the previous president intends on implementing if he had been elected.”

Harris returned to that message later within the debate: “The American persons are exhausted with the identical previous, drained playbook.” She went again to it later in criticizing Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 riot.

“Let’s flip the web page on this. Let’s not return,” she mentioned.

Trump sought to painting Harris as a continuation of President Joe Biden on immigration and the economic system.

On migrants coming into the U.S. illegally, he mentioned: “These are the people who she and Biden led into our nation, and so they’re destroying our nation. They’re harmful.”

And on the economic system, he mentioned: “She copied Biden’s plan. And it’s, like, 4 sentences. Run, Spot, run.”

Trump assaults as Harris defends coverage shifts

A major weak point for Harris within the marketing campaign has been the left-wing positions she took as a Democratic presidential main candidate in 2020 that she has since deserted or backtracked from — similar to banning fracking, mandating buybacks of semiautomatic firearms and decriminalizing border crossings. She was requested about her evolution once more.

“I made that very clear in 2020, I cannot ban fracking,” Harris mentioned. “I’ve not banned fracking as vice chairman. In reality, I used to be the tiebreaking vote on the inflation Discount Act, which opened new leases for fracking,” an ecologically controversial option to extract oil and pure gasoline.

Harris added, “My values haven’t modified.”

Trump sought to capitalize.

“She needs to do transgender operations on unlawful aliens which might be in jail. It is a radical left liberal that will do that. She needs to confiscate your weapons, and she is going to by no means enable fracking in Pennsylvania,” he mentioned. “If she received the election, fracking in Pennsylvania will finish on Day One.”

Trump dodges on vetoing federal abortion ban

Trump and Harris engaged in a prolonged conflict over abortion, throughout which Trump declined twice to say whether or not he would veto a federal abortion ban if Congress handed one.

“Properly, I received’t need to,” Trump replied. He mentioned he’s “not signing” such a ban as a result of there’s “no motive to,” arguing that “everyone” is proud of the termination of Roe v. Wade.

When informed that his vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance, of Ohio, mentioned he would veto such a ban, Trump contradicted Vance, who made his comments not too long ago on NBC Information’ “Meet the Press.”

“Properly, I didn’t talk about it with JD, in all equity. JD — and I don’t thoughts if he has a sure view, however I do not suppose he was talking for me,” he mentioned, arguing that Congress will not cross any main abortion invoice.

Harris mentioned: “I pledge to you: When Congress passes a invoice to place again in place the protections of Roe v. Wade as president of the USA, I’ll proudly signal it in to legislation. However perceive, if Donald Trump had been to be re-elected, he’ll signal a nationwide abortion ban.”

Harris baits Trump into missed alternatives

Harris got here into the talk with the hope of rattling Trump, and he or she appeared to succeed at some moments, baiting him right into a defensive posture somewhat than highlighting his strongest challenge: issues about inflation and the price of residing.

She attacked him on abortion rights, linked him to the right-wing coverage blueprint Venture 2025 and highlighted his reward for Chinese language President Xi Jinping across the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Each instances, he jumped in to defend himself. She invited People to observe a Trump rally.

“He talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter. He’ll speak about ‘windmills trigger most cancers.’ And what additionally, you will discover is that individuals begin leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and tedium,” Harris mentioned, trying into the digicam.

That didn’t sit nicely with Trump, who mentioned he has “probably the most unbelievable rallies within the historical past of politics” and went on a tangent by citing a debunked conspiracy idea about some migrants’ consuming pets. “They’re eating the dogs, the people who got here in, they’re consuming the cats,” he mentioned.

Trump bashes Biden, sparking pithy Harris reply

Trump’s efficiency included a large sprinkling of assaults on Biden, who dropped out after his disastrous late-June debate displaying towards Trump. He criticized Biden’s dealing with of categorised paperwork, knocked him for opposing the Keystone XL pipeline and referred to as the Biden’s administration “probably the most divisive presidency within the historical past of our nation.”

“The place is our president? We don’t even know if he’s the president,” Trump mentioned towards the top of the talk. “They threw him out of a marketing campaign like a canine. We don’t even know. Is he our president? We now have a president that doesn’t know he’s alive.”

Harris replied, “It is very important remind the previous president: You’re not operating towards Joe Biden; you’re operating towards me.”

When Trump mentioned later, “She is Biden,” Harris responded: “Clearly, I’m not Joe Biden. And I’m definitely not Donald Trump.”