Vice-President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump clashed bitterly on the issues of economy, abortion, immigration, foreign policy, healthcare, and a whole range of issues in their first presidential debate in Washington, DC. 

Harris attacked Trump on abortion, calling him responsible for the Supreme Court decision to end decades of abortion rights. 

She also attacked him on the January 6, 2020, insurrection and the economy. She said Biden-Harris was left to clean up the mess left behind by Trump. The vice-president forced the former president to defend himself and his comments, including the one about her racial identity.

Trump focussed his attack on Harris over immigration, accusing her and the Biden-Harris administration of letting immigrants enter the US illegally in hordes, who, he added, were taking jobs and pushing up crime rates in the US.

He said it was the weakness of President Joe Biden and his administration that led to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

Trump tried repeatedly to hold Harris responsible for the actions of the Biden administration.

In an early exchange on the economy, Harris responded to Trump’s charge that he had left the Biden administration with one of the “greatest economies” saying “Donald Trump left us the worst unemployment since the Great Depression. Donald Trump left us the worst public health epidemic in a century. Donald Trump left us the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War. And what we have done is clean up Donald Trump's mess.”

Trump hit back at her saying, “She doesn’t have a plan. She copied Biden’s plan, and it's like four sentences like, Run Spot Run, four sentences that are just oh, we’ll try and lower taxes. She doesn’t have a plan, take a look at her plan. She doesn’t have a plan.”

At one stage, Trump got a personal. “She’s a Marxist. Everybody knows she’s a Marxist. Her father is a Marxist Professor in Economics, and he taught her well.”

Harris was also rough on him, accusing him of lying repeatedly.

Trump took heat on abortion as expected. And he defended himself, saying, “The Democrats are radical in that. And her vice presidential pick, which I think is a horrible pick, by the way, for our country, because he is really out of it. But her vice presidential pick says abortion in the ninth month is absolutely fine. He also says execution after birth. It's execution, no longer abortion because the baby is born is okay, and that's not okay with me, hence the vote. But what I did is something, for 52 years, they've been trying to get Roe v Wade into the states, and through the genius and heart and strength of six Supreme Court justices. We were able to do that. Now, I believe in the exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.”

But Harris was not about to let him off the hook easily.

“Donald Trump hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v Wade, and they did exactly as he intended. And now in over 20 states there are Trump abortion bans, which make it criminal for a doctor or nurse to provide health care in one state, it provides prison for life... Trump's abortion bans make no exception, even for rape and incest, which you understand what that means. The survivors of crime... a violation of their body, do not have the right to decide what happens to their body next... that is immoral and one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree with the government and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body.”

Trump was fired by 81 million voters in 2020, says Harris 

Harris said that Trump was “fired by 81 million voters” in the 2024 election during an exchange in the debate on the latter’s continuing refusal to acknowledge he lost.

“I got almost 75 million votes, the most votes any sitting President has ever gotten. I was told if I got 63 which was what I got in 2016 you can't be beaten in the election. People should never be thinking that an election is fraudulent,” Trump said when asked by moderators to explain his recent statements in which he had seemingly acknowledged losing the 2024 election.

“We need two things. We have to have borders, and we have to have good elections. Our elections are bad, and a lot of these illegal immigrants are coming in, they're trying to get them to vote. They can't even speak English. They don't even know what country they're in, practically. And these people are trying to get them to vote, and that's why they're allowing them to come into our country,” he added.

“Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people,” Harris said, when asked by moderators to respond to the former President. “So let's be clear about that, and clearly he is having a very difficult time processing that. But we cannot afford to have a President of the United States who attempts, as he did in the past, to upend the will of the voters in a free and fair election. And I'm going to tell you that I have travelled the world as vice president of the United States and world leaders are laughing at Donald Trump,” she further said.

She added, looking at Trump: “I have talked with military leaders, some of whom work with you, and they say ‘You're a disgrace’. And when you then talk in this way in a presidential debate and deny what over and over again are court cases you have lost because you did, in fact lose that election, it leads one to believe that perhaps we do not have in the candidate to my right, the temperament or the ability to not be confused about fact that's deeply troubling, and the American people deserve better.”

Trump pushed back arguing he has heard from foreign leaders such as Hungary’s Victor Orban that the world needs a strong leader like Trump. He said quoting Orban, “You need Trump back as President. They were afraid of him. China was afraid. And I don't like to use the word afraid, but I'm just quoting him. China was afraid of him. North Korea was afraid of him. Look at what's going on with North Korea.”

Putin would eat you: Harris to Trump on his ‘friendship' with Russian president

When the discussion shifted to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Trump refrained from answering directly whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war. Instead, he said, "I think it's in the US' best interest to get this war finished."

Harris responded sharply, taunting Trump for his "friendship" with Putin. She suggested that Trump would cave under pressure from the Russian leader.

"Putin would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe, starting with Poland," Harris said. "How quickly you would give up for the sake of favour and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch."

On the Israel-Hamas conflict, Harris voiced her support for a two-state solution. Trump claimed the current situation in Gaza would never have escalated under his presidency and accused Harris of disliking both Israel and the Arab population in the region.

Harris firmly denied Trump’s accusations and reiterated her support for Israel.

Harris also criticised Trump’s global reputation, pointing out how world leaders perceive him.

"I have travelled the world as Vice-President of the United States. World leaders are laughing at Donald Trump. They say you are a disgrace," she sarcastically remarked.

Throughout the debate, Harris handled Trump's criticisms with composure, particularly when he attempted to highlight the failures of the Biden administration.

In response, Harris quipped, "You are not running against Biden."

Legal troubles

To Trump’s charge that the Biden administration was allowing criminals to come into the country through the southern border, Harris said, “I think this is so rich coming from someone who has been prosecuted for national security crimes, economic crimes, election interference has been found liable for sexual assault, and his next big court appearance is in November at his own criminal sentencing.”

Trump shot back, saying, “Every one of those cases was started by them against their political opponent, and I'm winning most of them, and I will win the rest on appeal. And you saw that with the decision that came down just recently from the Supreme Court. I'm winning most of them, but those are cases. It's called weaponisation. Never happened in this country.”

Harris went on to frame her argument to voters in the context of these cases and the Supreme Court’s recent ruling regarding presidential immunity.

“The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that the former president would essentially be immune from any misconduct if he were to enter the White House. Again, understand, this is someone who has openly said he would terminate, I'm quoting, terminate the Constitution of the United States that he would weaponise the Department of Justice against his political enemies, someone who has openly expressed disdain for members of our military. Understand what it would mean if Donald Trump were back in the White House with no guard rails. Because certainly, we know now the court won't stop him. We know JD Vance is not going to stop him. It's up to the American people,” she said.

The debate, hosted by ABC News, marked the first time the two candidates faced off. Notably, Harris and Trump shook hands at the start of the debate, breaking an eight-year streak of no handshakes on the presidential debate stage.

Harris also made a point to formally introduce herself to Trump during their initial encounter, adding a personal touch to the fiery exchanges.

(compiled from syndicated feed)