Presidential debate recap: Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump clash in fiery debate
The presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump has concluded, and oh boy was it a wild ride.
It was the second debate for the 2024 election, however, since the first, the Democratic nominee has changed from President Joe Biden to Harris.
With polls this week revealing a neck-and-neck race, the debate was a pivotal moment for Republicans and Democrats.
Meeting for the first time, Harris attempted to show she was not afraid of Trump from the get-go, directly approaching the former President at his podium, introducing herself to her opponent.
Donald Trump claimed immigrants were eating cats and Harris again had to clarify her stance on fracking and guns.
Harris’ debate performance secured a major celebrity endorsement from Taylor Swift, and Trump claimed the he won online.
Taking place at the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia, the 90-minute debate was anchored by David Muir and Linsey Davis from ABC News.
Scroll down for the biggest moments of the historic second presidential debate in the 2024 race to The White House.
Key Events
That’s a wrap for our live coverage of the second presidential debate
The sencond presidential debate has come to an end and in turn, so has our live blog.
It is unclear if or when Trump and Harris will come face to face again.
Trump has previously said he wanted to do more debates. However, that was said when he was noncommital about his appearance on the ABC debate we just saw.
The Harris campaign said the vice president was open to more debates as long as Trump turned up first to the ABC debate.
Now the debate has occured, we may see an October debate announced in the coming days.
The Nightly’s analysis of the Trump, Harris debate
She was fortunate and skilled enough to turn a policy-light debate into a demolition of Trump’s presidency and character.
The vice president had a shaky start and repeatedly stumbled over key lines.
Her initial nervousness was understandable — the pressure was almost entirely on her. To maintain the momentum that polls showed was starting to dissipate, there was no room for fatal error.
Trump, whose bombast, insults and ravings have been part of the fabric of US politics for the best part of a decade, had less to lose by contrast.
Whether that’s fair or not is irrelevant, the likely only Presidential debate was always going to be more about Kamala Harris purely because voters know so little about her given her late ascendancy.
Trump’s successes were underwhelming compared to Harris. Given this was Trump’s seventh debate and Harris’ first, it’s clear she went into the clash better prepared, even if there was little in the way of policy details.
Pity the American voters, they have few clues about how Harris might run the country differently to Biden and the debate left them none the wiser.
It was the same for those hoping to understand how her foreign policy might differ from the President’s.
The fact that Trump felt it necessary to head to the spin room immediately after to tell journalists it was his best debate ever, said it all. He cut a pitiful figure.
His descent into a rabbit warren of conspiracy theories, rather than a relentlessly forcing the focus onto the economy and immigration means she passes an important hurdle and can hope to build on her momentum.
Media makes call on historic presidential debate
In the wake of one of the most anticpated presidential debates of all time, the former President has been referred to as “Glum Donald Trump”.
“A tired, angry Donald Trump faced off against a prepared and relatively polished Kamala Harris in the first presidential debate of the 2024 presidential campaign, and lost,” journalist Adam Creighton wrote for The Australian.
Mr Creighton said the expectations on Harris were low but claimed her performance well exceeded them.
Trump however came accross as unprepared, something he previously boasted about, and said the former President dwelled far too long on the issues of January 6 when he told Americans to storm the Captiol.
Harris takes to Instagram to invite Americans to a Trump rally
During the debate, Harris told Americans to go to a Trump rally.
It may be an unconvention way to win over voters, but for Harris, she appears to think it will be a win for her.
On Instragtam, Harris wrote: “Go to one of Donald Trump’s rallies.”
“He talks about Hannibal Lecter, windmills causing cancer—and you will even notice people leaving early out of boredom.
“The one thing you will not hear him talk about is you.”
Trump and Harris clash on China
Trump and Harris clashed on China policy during the presidential debate.
Trump defended his recent vows to increase trade duties, including blanket tariffs of 10 per cent to 20 per cent and additional tariffs of 60 per cent to 100 per cent on China.
“Other countries are going to finally, after 75 years, pay us back for all that we’ve done for the world, and the tariff will be substantial,” the former president said, adding that his administration had taken in “billions and billions of dollars” from China.
He also pointed out that the Biden-Harris administration maintained most of the Trump administration’s tariffs on China.
“They never took the tariff off, because it was so much money. They can’t, it would totally destroy everything that they’ve set out to do,” he said.
Meanwhile, Harris argued that the Trump administration was weak on China.
“Under Donald Trump’s presidency, he ended up selling American chips to China to help them improve and modernize their military,” Harris said in apparent reference to the current administration’s ramped-up efforts to restrict the sale of advanced semiconductors to adversaries.
“(He) basically sold us out when a policy about China should be in making sure the United States of America wins the competition for the 21st century,” she said.
“What that requires, focusing on relationships with our allies, focusing on investing in American-based technology so that we win the race, on AI, on quantum computing, focusing on what we need to do to support America’s workforce.”
- With CNBC
Trump’s running mate JD Vance responds to debate
Speaking on Fox News, Republican vice president nominee JD Vance said Harris only delivered slogans.
“I think if you watched the debate, you’re sitting at home, you’re an undecided voter, what you saw is a person who repeats slogans instead of respecting you enough to treat you as an adult,” he said.
Trump says debate was ‘three on one’
Trump took to his social media platofrm Truth Social to say that everyone was against him in the debate room.
“I thought that was my best Debate, EVER, especially since it was THREE ON ONE!” he wrote.
The moderators appeared to stay impartial to both Harris and Trump.
David Muir and Linsey Davis from ABC News did press the former President over abortion rights, his plans and if he accepted that he lost the 2020 election.
Trump appeared more uncomfortable at those moments and in turn appears to have decided the moderators were against him.
Harris too was pushed on multiple issues including fracking, her economic plans and immigration.
Trump declares debate victory on Truth Social
Donald Trump has taken to his social media app Truth Social to claim the debate was a “big win” for the former President.
“People are saying BIG WIN tonight!” he said.
Trump went on to post multiple screen shots of polls from accounts inclduing Politcal Polls, Leading Report and Inside Paper which declared Trump as the winner.
The accounts have not been checked for potential politcal biases.
America shocked to discover Harris is a gun owner
During the debate, Trump claimed Harris wanted to take away everyone’s guns.
It was an accusation Harris would not drop.
Asking to respond Harris was told the debate needed to move on.
When Harris was next given a question, she said would address the question but first needed to address the comments around guns that Trump made.
“I need to respond to a previous point the former president has made,” Harris said.
“I have made very clear my position on fracking and then this business about taking everyone’s guns away.
“Tim Walz and I are both gun owners.
“We’re not taking anybody’s guns away so stop with the continuous lying about this stuff.”
Harris’s gun ownership was not something known to the public.
Currently, “Kamala Harris declares gun ownership” is one of the highest trending topics on X.
If her gun ownershoup could sway pro-gun voters is yet to be seen, but it certenly squashes debate on her wanting to take away guns.
Taylor Swift endorses Harris moments after debate
“Like many of you, I watched the debate tonight,” Swift wrote.
“If you haven’t already, now is a great time to do your research on the issues at hand and the stances these candidates take on the topics that matter to you the most.
“Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site.
“It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation. It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter.
“The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.
“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election.
“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.
“I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
