The Democratic candidate Kamala Harris He took the initiative to reach out to his opponent, the Republican candidate Donald TrumpIt was an awkward greeting that marked the first time the two politicians met face to face. Judging by his body language, it seems the former president was not expecting it.
From Philadelphia, in the key state of Pennsylvania, the two faced each other in the first – and perhaps only – debate of this second phase of the electoral cycle, leading up to the November 5 elections. The questions were asked by moderators from the ABC network, organizer of the highly anticipated event.
Harris began the evening by talking about her middle-class background, explaining that she is interested in working for lower-income Americans. Trump, for his part, presented himself from the beginning of his speech as the strongman who seeks to prevent other countries from continuing to “take advantage of the United States.”
The first exchange was about the state of the economy. “We probably have the worst inflation in the history of the country,” the Republican said, while Kamala Harris shook her head in denial of her opponent’s words, who also said that the economic situation is bad because the jobs are being taken by Hispanic immigrants that “Harris and Biden have let in by the millions,” she said, “who are now taking over our cities.” This comment referred to alleged members of the transnational criminal gang Tren de Aragua, of Venezuelan origin, who appear in a video taking over an apartment building in Colorado.
Ignoring Trump’s argument, Harris defended herself by talking about the Republican’s record of “low jobs” during his administration. The Democrat also took aim at the so-called Project 2025, a set of conservative policies promoted by at least 145 former advisers to the former president for a vision of the future of the United States in a possible new Republican presidency. “I have nothing to do with that,” Trump defended himself.
The debate took place without any major proposals from either candidate, partly because they strategically sought it out, and also because the moderators’ focus did not seem to be on it.
Harris accused Trump, saying that her rival “doesn’t have a plan for you, only for the wealthiest.” And almost every time she spoke, the Democrat looked at him, unable to hide her facial expressions that denied the Republican’s words, sometimes even breaking into angry smiles.
Trump sarcastically said he would send his rival a baseball cap. Make America Great Again (her campaign slogan, which translates to “Make America Great Again”), because according to him, she copies his political proposals so much “that it seems that now she is on my side.” The Democratic opponent immediately put her hand to her chin in a sign of displeasure at the comment. Harris defended herself from this criticism by reaffirming that her values “have not changed,” although she admitted that during her years as vice president she has learned to be more pragmatic in politics.
Abortion, the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and national security were other topics that were addressed under the same manual: Trump attacking Harris’ performance as vice president of Joe Bidenand even the current president himself, of whom he said “he spends his time on the beach.”
On the Democratic side, Harris continued to speak to his face, even though he did not look at her even once, in a sort of “prosecutor vs. defendant” stance, the result of which was honestly not very clear if it worked even though Trump spent at least the entire first hour of the debate defending himself.
The moderators brought up difficult topics for the former president, such as the 2020 election, while he tried to return to immigration and the border all the time, even leading him to say one of the most viral quotes of the debate. “Illegal immigrants have come to cities like Ohio to eat the pets of the families of those who live there,” Trump said, to the laughter of Harris and the immediate correction of the moderator who claimed to have clarified that information as false from the mouths of the local authorities.
As the meeting drew to a close, Harris tried to stick to questions without offering much concrete insight, then urged viewers to “turn the page” and move on from Trump’s “chaos.”
The Republican, in a moment that is not entirely clear how planned it was, became so desperate that he said that “I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things they say about me,” referring to the assassination attempt he suffered there in the state of Pennsylvania on July 13.
The war in Gaza and positions on Israel, support for NATO, Trump’s fascination with strong leaders like Viktor Orbánwere also topics that came up in a debate that focused on everything and nothing at the same time.
“I’ve spoken to world leaders who have worked with you and they say you are a disgrace,” Harris told Trump, who defended himself by saying that the Hungarian leader had told her that the events happening in the world today “did not happen three years ago, thanks to him (Trump) being in power.”
Overall, the moderators asked Trump far more difficult questions than Harris, leading to more Fact Check moments that will surely be used by Republicans to argue that there was an imbalance in the refereeing of this debate.
In the end, Trump’s advanced age was not noticeable and Harris managed to appear more presidential to part of the electorate who did not know her well…
But perhaps the cherry on top of her good night was the surprising support she received from the powerful singer. Taylor Swift at the end of the transmission.