Trump, Harris & everyone in between
Acacia Carol, Contributor |
As the debate opened Tuesday night, moderators David Muir and Lindsey Davis laid out the conditions of the debate: 90 minutes broken by two commercial breaks, each candidate allotted two minutes to answer and one minute for clarification or responses. No audience would be present.
Although many issues were covered and responded to by both candidates, the main points of discussion were: the economy, abortion, immigration, policy changes, peaceful transfer of office, foreign policy and climate change.
Muir posed the first question asking Kamala Harris if Americans are economically “better off” now as opposed to four years ago.
“I believe in the ambition, the aspirations, the dreams of the American people. And that is why I imagine and have actually a plan to build what I call an opportunity economy,” Harris said.
Harris outlined concerns about the housing crisis and went in depth on two of her policies, which proposed tax cuts of up to $6,000 for young families and a $50,000 tax deduction for small businesses.
Donald Trump’s opening statement refuted “an incorrect statement” and further clarified that a large portion of his economic policy would rely on tariffs.
“Other countries are going to finally, after 75 years, pay us back for all that we’ve done for the world.”
Trump described inflation as “a disaster” before commenting on how his immigration policy would focus on deportation, with an added emphasis on individuals who are “at the highest level of criminality.”
Davis questioned Trump about his abortion policy and why American women should trust him.
Trump responded with concerns about late term abortions and post birth “executions.” He later clarified that he believes in exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
Davis clarified that there was no state that allowed the killing of a baby after birth before getting Harris’ response.
Harris pointed out that current “Trump” abortion bans do not make exceptions for rape and incest.
“I pledge to you,” Harris promised, “when Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protections of Roe v. Wade as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.”
Muir guided the debate towards the issue of immigration, asking Harris if she would have handled Biden’s asylum restrictions differently and questioning the time it took to implement those restrictions.
Harris responded by touching on a border security bill she supported which was later “kill[ed]” by Donald Trump and further commenting that supporters left Trump rallies “out of exhaustion and boredom.”
When asked to comment further on his immigration policies, Trump first responded to allegations about his rallies before sharing concerns about the “millions and millions” of immigrants entering the United States and the potential safety risks.
Muir reiterated that a city manager from Springfield, Ohio, verified that there were no credible reports of immigrants harming, injuring or abusing pets.
Davis moved the topic of debate towards Harris and her changing stance on fracking, buyback programs for assault weapons and decriminalizing border crossings.
Harris examined each policy that has changed throughout her campaign before stating that “My values have not changed.”
Trump responded by questioning Harris’ reasoning for changing a significant amount of her policies before directly criticizing her motives as a future president.
“She did things that nobody would ever think of,” he stated. “Now she wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison.”
The next item for discussion centered around former President Trump’s ability to peacefully transfer power, citing the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Trump’s response included references to his speech that day, calling Harris a “border czar” and finally stating that former speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi, was “responsible.”
Harris responded by further condemning Trump’s reaction on Jan. 6.
The debate turned to foreign policy, specifically the Israel and Hamas War and how either candidate would handle ceasefire negotiations.
Harris reiterated Israel’s right to self defense.
Trump stated that no war would’ve started if he was president before claiming that Harris “hated” Israel.
The convoluted conversation continued on foreign policy, with heavy critiques from both candidates on the others ability to govern on a national stage.
Finally, the candidates provided their closing statements.
“I’ve only had one client. The people,” Harris concluded. “As a prosecutor I never asked a victim or a witness ‘are you a Republican or a Democrat?’ The only thing I ever asked them, ‘are you okay?’”
Trump used his closing statement to reiterate his concerns about Harris before finally culminating that America is “not ready” for a Harris presidency.
“We can’t sacrifice our country for the sake of bad vision.”
Those interested in reading the full transcript of the 2024 Presidential Debate can read it on ABC News.
