Kamala Harris and Donald Trump faced each other this Tuesday in a tense electoral debate in which they tried to convince undecided Americans to tip the balance in their favour in a very close presidential election.
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The Democratic vice president, 59, and the former president and Republican candidate, 78, entered the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and shook hands, then exchanged accusations as they discussed a range of issues, including the economy, abortion rights, the immigration challenge, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the climate crisis.
This presidential debate – the first and perhaps the only one – was also the first time the two met in person.
Here, The highlights of a night that could mark the November 5 elections, to which Harris and Trump arrive with a virtual technical tie in the pollsespecially in the seven swing states.
‘Hi, I’m Kamala’
One of the big questions before the meeting was whether Harris and Trump would shake hands. Upon entering the room, Trump headed straight to his lectern, while Harris crossed the stage and extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Kamala. Let’s have a good debate,” she said as they shook hands. “Nice to see you. Have fun,” Trump replied.
Non-verbal language
The debate was particularly heated and The candidates repeatedly used non-verbal language to show their disapproval.
Harris, aware that television channels often show candidates on a split screen, took the opportunity to shake her head in disagreement when Trump spoke, to raise her eyebrows in surprise or to squint her eyes, pretending to try to follow the thread of his arguments.
Trump, for his part, flashed mocking smiles and, on occasion, could not contain himself, continuing his attacks even when the microphones had been muted, as the small group of reporters present in the room could see.
Venezuela on steroids
For Trump, If Harris wins the presidency, the United States will become “Venezuela on steroids”: “She is destroying the country,” she said, reinforcing her criticism of illegal immigration and border management.
The former president routinely accuses Joe Biden’s administration of opening the border to illegal immigrants and allowing countries like Venezuela to reduce their crime rate by “getting rid” of these people.
At another point, Trump was asked what the massive immigration operation he promised during his campaign would look like, involving around 11 million people. The Republican avoided giving details of what he said would be “the largest operation in history.”
Harris, for her part, criticised Trump for resorting to racist policies: “We need to turn the page on this rhetoric and focus on what really interests people. People are tired,” she replied.
Harris’s skin color
Trump had previously questioned the origins of his Democratic rival. “Is she Indian or black?” he had asked. On Tuesday he tried to distance himself from this controversy: “I couldn’t care less what she is. Whatever she wants to be is fine with me,” he said, justifying his previous attacks on the fact that he had read that she was not black..
Harris, whose mother is Indian and whose father is Jamaican, called it a “tragedy” that a White House candidate would use race to “divide” Americans.
Trump’s string of false information
The former president could not help but repeat the lies he usually resorts to in order to warn the population about the Democrats and their administration: since they allow abortion at nine months of gestation and even the execution of newborn babies.
On Tuesday, he echoed another racist rhetoric spread by his side, accusing migrants of eating the dogs and cats of citizens living in border cities, something also denied by local authorities.
In fact, ABC News moderators Linsey Davis and David Muir made live corrections to former President Trump while hosting the debate. For example, after Trump said Harris supports “execution after birth,” Davis responded, “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after birth.”
And when Trump said crime rates had skyrocketed under President Joe Biden, Muir shot him down: “President Trump, as you know, the FBI says that violent crime overall is going down in this country.”
Trump’s obsession with crowd size
Trump often boasts about the number of people who attend his events. In 2017, he spent days obsessing over media coverage of his inauguration, falsely claiming that more people had attended than Barack Obama’s (2009-2021).
This Tuesday he insisted on that line, stating that His rallies are “the biggest and most incredible in the history of politics,” while Harris managed to anger him by saying that citizens leave these meetings out of tiredness and boredom.
Harris, armed
Harris took the opportunity to make it clear that Both she and her running mate, Tim Walz, own firearms.
The statement could appeal to independent voters who fear Democrats will restrict gun ownership, a right protected by the U.S. Constitution.
When Trump accused her of wanting to confiscate Americans’ guns, Harris responded: “Tim Walz and I are gun owners; we’re not taking anyone’s guns away, so stop lying about this.”
In 2019, during his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Harris had previously mentioned that he owned a gun for personal safety.
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