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PHILADELPHIA: Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump met on Tuesday for their first and perhaps only debate, a debate that could have a significant impact on the Nov. 5 election as polls show a tight race.

Here are some takeaways from the debate:

Riling is his rival

As his campaign predicted, Harris made a point to get under Trump's skin.

He asked viewers to attend a Trump rally, where he said Trump said weird things like windmills cause cancer (which he actually said), and he mocked the attendees for being bored. they leave

Trump, who brags about the crowds he kills, was visibly outraged.

“My demonstrations, we have the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics,” he said. He accused Harris of busing participants into his marches.

Trump then falsely claimed that immigrants in the country illegally were killing and eating people's pets in Springfield, Ohio, a baseless claim that circulated on social media and was fueled by Trump's vice president, JD Vance. .

In Springfield, they're eating dogs! The people who came in are eating the cats!” Trump said. They are eating the pets of the people who live there.

City officials in Springfield have said the reports are false, which ABC executives pointed out after Trump's comments.

“Talk about extremes,” Harris replied with a laugh.

Defense game

Another goal of Harris, as a former California attorney general, was to call Trump out on his past actions, particularly his efforts to subvert the 2020 election.

An hour into the debate, his strategy seemed to have paid off. Trump was constantly on the defensive.

Asked about the siege of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, he insisted he had “nothing to do with it, except that I was asked to speak.” He also falsely claimed to have won the 2020 election.

Harris used Trump's actions as an argument for the country to turn the page.

Donald Trump was voted out by 81 million people, so let's be clear about this, and he's obviously going to have a very difficult time handling this, but we can't have a president of the United States trying to . “Fix the will of the electorate in a free and fair election,” Harris said.

The vice president took a little more dig at Trump, saying world leaders are laughing at him and calling him an embarrassment — language Trump has used at rallies, noting that he says other countries look up to President Joe Biden.

Minutes later, Trump erupted, claiming Harris “didn't have a vote” in the Democratic nomination bid and suggesting he replace Biden as part of some sort of coup.
“He hates him,” Trump said of Biden. “She can't stand him.”

Those exchanges may have helped Harris argue that Trump lacks, as he called it, the “temper” of a president.

Racial divide

In the depth of this discussion, the long-standing issue of race was raised. Trump was asked why he publicly questioned Harris' dual heritage as a black and South Asian woman.

“I don't care what he is,” she replied. “I read he was black. Then I read he wasn't black.”

Asked to respond, Harris accused Trump of using race to divide Americans throughout his career. He mentioned how he and his father avoided black renters in the 1970s, and how Trump led a public outcry against five young black and Latino men wrongfully convicted of assaulting a jogger in New York City's Central Park in 1989. Convicted, led.

Harris noted that recently he openly questioned whether President Barack Obama is a citizen of the United States.

“I think it's a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be president and throughout his career has consistently tried to use race to divide the American people,” he said.

“I think the American people want better,” Harris added. “We don't want a leadership that is constantly trying to point the finger at Americans.”

Instead of trying to defend his record, Trump went back to the economy and tried to pin Biden's economic policies on Harris. “He's trying to distance himself from Biden,” he said.

Harris used the attack to re-position himself as an agent of change.

“I'm obviously not Joe Biden, and I'm definitely not Donald Trump, and what I'm offering is a new generation of leadership for our country,” Harris said.

shaking hands

At the start of the debate, the question arose as to how Harris and Trump, who have never met, would greet each other.

Harris settled the matter definitively. She walked up to Trump at the back of the podium, extended her hand, and introduced herself as “Kamala Harris.”

It was a disarming way to approach a man who had spent weeks insulting Harris' race and gender.

SPARring in the economy

In the opening minutes of the debate, Trump and Harris battled over one of the issues most important to voters: the economy.

Harris outlined the economic policies he has implemented in recent weeks, which include a significant tax credit for small startups. Trump focused his comments on the tariffs, which he said would protect the U.S. economy from unfair foreign competition.

While both sides disagreed, Harris first got to talk about an issue that has trailed Trump in terms of voter confidence. He seemed to put the former president on his feet, with Trump essentially defending him on one of his strongest issues.

“He doesn't have a plan,” Trump said after Harris' opening remarks. “It's like running, period, running.”

Hypocrisy about abortion

The two candidates also engaged in a heated debate over abortion, an issue where polls show Harris has the upper hand.

Trump defended a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended constitutional protections for abortion and returned the issue to the states, arguing that it was the desired outcome for Republicans and Democrats. Democrats have long supported the legal right to abortion.

“I did a great service in doing it. It took courage to do it.”

Trump claimed that some states allow abortion after birth, a point that was corrected by ABC News anchor Lynsey Davis.

Pointing to states that have passed restrictive bans, Harris took umbrage at Trump's comments that making abortion a states' rights issue would be a popular outcome.

“Is this what the people wanted?” Harris asked. People denied emergency room care because health care providers are afraid they'll be taken to jail?

Trump was asked if he would veto a federal abortion ban if Congress passes it. He insisted that would never happen, but refused to give a definitive answer to the question.

separate worlds

One of the most heated policy debates came when Trump and Harris clashed over how to handle Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The candidates' answers showed that their views on America's role in the world are fundamentally different.

Trump refused to say he wanted Ukraine to win the war, even when ABC anchor David Muir pressed him on the matter, saying only that he wanted to end the conflict as soon as possible.

Harris responded by arguing that what Trump really wanted was Ukraine's swift and unconditional surrender.

“If Donald Trump was president,[Russian President Vladimir]Putin would be sitting in Kiev right now,” Harris said.

'Justice is a weapon

In a heated exchange, Trump and Harris accused each other of conspiring to “weaponize” the Justice Department in an effort to go after their enemies.

Trump said the indictments he faces for conspiracy to reverse his 2020 election loss and misappropriation of classified documents — as well as his conviction for falsifying documents related to out-of-pocket payments to a porn star — were all the result of a conspiracy he created. is Harris and Biden have no evidence for this claim.

Harris responded by pointing out that Trump has promised to prosecute his enemies if he wins a second term.

“Understand this is someone who has openly said he's going to abrogate the Constitution, I quote,” Harris said.

In this exchange, it was emphasized how Harris and Trump see the dangers of this election. Both opponents see themselves as a threat to democracy itself.