PHILADELPHIA: Republican Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris clashed over the economy in the opening moments of their first presidential debate on Tuesday, a key moment in the closely fought election.
Harris, 59, attacked Trump’s intention to impose high tariffs on foreign goods – a proposal she has likened to a sales tax on the middle class – while touting her plan to offer tax benefits to families.
Here are takeaways from the debate:
Handshake
Heading into the debate, there was a question as to how Harris and Trump, who have never met, would greet each other.
Harris settled the issue, definitively. She walked over to Trump at his podium, extended her hand and introduced herself as “Kamala Harris.”
It was a disarming way for Harris to approach a man who has spent weeks insulting her race and gender.
After that, the debate quickly settled into an expected groove. Harris swiftly painted herself as a forward-looking candidate. She predicted Trump at the debate would pull from the “same tired playbook.”
“A bunch of lies, grievances and name calling,” Harris said.
Sparring on the economy
In the debate’s opening minutes, Trump and Harris went to battle on one of the issues that is top of mind for voters: the economy.
Harris detailed the economic policies she has rolled out in recent weeks, which include a substantial tax credit for small start-ups. Trump focused his comments on tariffs, saying he would protect the American economy from unfair foreign competition.
While both sides got their jabs in, Harris got to speak first on a topic where she trails Trump in terms of voter trust. She appeared to force the former president onto his back foot, and Trump essentially played defense on one of his strongest issues.
“She doesn’t have a plan” Trump said, after Harris’ opening comments. “It’s like Run, Spot, Run.”
A schism on abortion
The two candidates also engaged in a fractious debate about abortion, an issue where polls show Harris has the upper hand.
Trump defended the US Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that ended constitutional protection for abortion and sent the issue back to individual states, arguing, incorrectly, that it was an outcome desired by both Republicans and Democrats. Democrats have long supported a constitutional right to abortion.
“I did a great service in doing it. It took courage to do it,” Trump said.
Trump also contended that some states allow babies to be aborted after birth, a point corrected by ABC News moderator, Linsey Davis.
Harris flashed some outrage at Trump’s assertion that abortion becoming a states-rights issue was a popular result, referring to states that have passed restrictive bans.
“This is what people wanted?” Harris asked. “People being denied care in an emergency room because healthcare providers are being afraid of being hauled off to jail?”
The debate got under way at 9 p.m. ET (0100 GMT on Wednesday).
With eight weeks to go before the Nov. 5 election, and days until early voting starts in some states, the debate – the only one scheduled – presented both opportunities and risks for each candidate in front of a televised audience of tens of millions of voters.
Ahead of the debate, Trump, 78, said he would contrast the left-wing policies Harris proposed in her unsuccessful 2020 presidential bid – such as banning fracking – with the more centrist positions she has staked out now.
“You don’t know what to expect. She’s changed all of her policies over the years,” the former president told NBC News in a phone interview.
Harris, 59, indicated she would draw attention to Trump’s reliance on falsehoods.
“Donald Trump has a real problem with the truth,” she wrote in a social media post on Tuesday morning. Her campaign released an ad featuring former President Barack Obama ridiculing Trump’s false claims about crowd sizes at his events.
The encounter is particularly important for Harris, with opinion polls showing that more than a quarter of likely voters feel they do not know enough about her. Harris entered the race only seven weeks ago after President Joe Biden’s exit.
The debate offers Harris, a former prosecutor, a chance to make her case against Trump, whose felony convictions, outspoken backing for supporters convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and frequent falsehoods are all potential vulnerabilities.
Trump has proven an effective counter-puncher in past debates, knocking opponents off-balance with unpredictable attacks, and he knows how to command a camera thanks to his years as a reality television star.
First meeting
The clash followed weeks of personal attacks on Harris by Trump and his allies that have included racist and sexist insults.
Trump’s advisers and fellow Republicans have urged him to focus on the high levels of inflation and immigration during Biden’s presidency, though both have dropped dramatically this year.
Presidential debates do not necessarily change voters’ minds, but they can transform the dynamics of a race. Biden’s poor performance against Trump in June led him to abandon his campaign on July 21.
In a contest that could again come down to tens of thousands of votes in a handful of states, even a small shift in public opinion could alter the outcome. The two candidates are effectively tied in the seven battleground states likely to decide the election, according to polling averages compiled by the New York Times.
The 90-minute debate, hosted by ABC News, was taking place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. As agreed by the campaigns, there was no live audience and candidates’ microphones were muted when it was not their turn to speak.
Harris spent days preparing in Pittsburgh, holding mock sessions on a stage with lights to recreate the debate environment.
Trump instead relied on informal chats with advisers, campaign appearances and media interviews to prepare, with former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard – who had a memorably hostile exchange with Harris in a Democratic presidential debate in 2019 – offering advice.
On a call with reporters on Monday, Gabbard said Trump would treat Harris the same as any other opponent.
“President Trump respects women and doesn’t feel the need to be patronizing or to speak to women in any other way than he would speak to a man,” she said.
Harris is expected to attack Trump over abortion. The issue has been a priority for Harris and Democrats since 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court – powered by three Trump appointees – eliminated a nationwide right to the procedure in a broadly unpopular decision.
Harris has also sought to tie Trump to Project 2025, a conservative policy blueprint that proposes expanding executive power, eliminating environmental regulations and making it illegal to ship abortion pills across state lines, among other right-wing goals.
More to follow…
