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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris faced off in a fiery debate that could reshape the trajectory of the 2024 presidential race. Held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on September 10, the debate aired on ABC and its affiliate networks, drawing widespread attention.
The event marked the first time since 2016 that two presidential candidates exchanged handshakes on stage. Yet, the civil gesture was quickly overshadowed by an intense exchange of personal barbs, policy disputes, and attacks on each other’s character.
Throughout the 90-minute debate, Harris took direct aim at Trump, particularly over his repeated false claims about the 2020 election. “Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people, so let’s be clear about that,” Harris said, in a pointed jab that drew visible frustration from the former president. Trump, in turn, stuck to his unproven narrative, declaring, “There’s so much proof. All you have to do is look at it.”
Abortion, one of the night’s most contentious issues, saw the two candidates offer sharply opposing views. Harris condemned state-level abortion bans and promised to fight for a federally protected right to abortion, while Trump, when pressed, refused to commit to vetoing a national abortion ban.
“I won’t have to,” implying the bill would never pass. When pressed that his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, claimed Trump would veto it, Trump responded, “I didn’t discuss it with JD,” adding that he didn’t mind if Vance held a different view.
The debate also covered foreign policy, with Harris criticizing Trump’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. She warned that a Russian victory could embolden President Vladimir Putin to invade other countries, including Poland, while Trump focused on achieving peace through negotiations, stopping short of calling for a Ukrainian victory.
Harris continued her sharp critique of Trump, stating, “I have traveled the world as vice president of the United States, and world leaders are laughing at Donald Trump.” She added that military leaders, including some who had worked with Trump, described him as “a disgrace.”
Trump claimed to have saved the Affordable Care Act (ACA), despite his administration’s efforts to repeal it. Harris countered by highlighting the ACA’s expansion under Biden’s presidency. Meanwhile, on the economy, Trump blamed the Biden administration for “the highest inflation” in U.S. history, a claim that was fact-checked live as false, given higher inflation rates during the 1980s.
Trump has pledged to carry out “mass deportations” of illegal immigrants if re-elected, while the 2024 Republican platform includes plans to complete the border wall, send additional law enforcement to the southern border, and increase penalties for illegal immigration. On the Democratic side, Harris, drawing on her experience as a prosecutor in a border state, has promised to revive the bipartisan border security bill that Senate Republicans blocked in May. The Biden-backed bill aimed to crack down on illegal border crossings, raise asylum qualification requirements and grant the president authority to close the border if immigration levels exceeded a certain threshold.
On that note, Trump repeated a false conspiracy about immigrants stealing and eating pets, a claim that has recently brought criticism to his running mate, JD Vance. “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,” Trump said. ABC News’ David Muir attempted to correct him, citing a Springfield, Ohio official who stated there had been “no credible reports” of pets being harmed or abused by immigrants. However, Trump stood by his claim, citing television interviews in which people allegedly said their pets had been taken for food.
The debate earned an overnight rating of 32.8 and a 70 share across eight networks. That’s +28% higher than the Trump-Biden debate earlier this year. NBC and other networks stand ready to host a Harris-Trump rematch in October. The responsibility is on Trump to agree.
