Philadelphia:Before the heated presidential debate between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump, the battle for the White House seemed to be tilting in the latter’s favor. However, the heated debate between the two candidates clearly turned out in her favor, as she managed to get Trump off guard on a number of issues.
The candidates clashed on issues such as immigration, foreign policy and health care, but the debate did not address specific policy details. Harris went on the offensive and managed to focus attention on Trump. The former president initially avoided name-calling during the opening moments, but grew increasingly nervous under Harris’s offensive, prompting personal comments. While scientific polls will take a few days to show whether the race has changed, both campaigns predictably claimed victory.
At one point, Harris mentioned Trump’s campaign rallies, prompting him to say that people often leave early “out of tiredness and boredom.” This seemed to infuriate Trump, who segued into an unsubstantiated claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are “eating the pets” of residents. “Now that’s extreme,” Harris said, laughing.
Who won the presidential debate?
According to the BBC, when it comes to which candidate best exploited the issues on which he or she has a strong presence among voters and defended his or her areas of weakness, Kamala Harris clearly had the advantage over Donald Trump. Observers from the British newspaper The Independent said that Trump’s disjointed answers, repeated falsehoods and constant interruptions hurt him on debate night. However, there does not seem to be a clear winner in the race.
“Make no mistake, Trump had a bad night,” Brit Hume said on Fox News. “We heard so many old complaints that we thought Trump had learned that they were not winners, politically.” Analysts also opined that Trump fell into Harris’ trap regarding criminal prosecutions, the size of his rallies and on issues such as abortion, foreign policy and more.
Harris’ comment about the size of Trump’s rallies was a turning point in the debate, leading him to rant against the Biden administration’s political action against him. “People don’t walk out of my rallies, we have the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics,” he said. Another big moment was when Harris crossed the room and reached out to shake hands — the first handshake in a presidential debate since 2016.
Reactions to the presidential debate
While many praised Kamala Harris’ performance, some of Trump’s supporters backed her performance and criticized ABC News for giving a biased platform for the debate. Trump himself said that he did well during the debate. “I think it was my best debate, especially since it was THREE ON ONE!” he said.
Marc Short, former chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, said: “Trump missed an opportunity to focus on the Biden-Harris case on the economy and the border and instead took the bait and went down rabbit holes into election denialism and immigrants eating our pets.”
“While Harris managed to unnerve Trump with her well-prepared attacks, it’s still not clear that she overwhelmingly convinced these voters to ultimately make up their minds based on this exchange. The question now is how much she actually managed to change the situation. However, Trump did himself no favors by agreeing to participate in this debate,” said Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist.
Latino leaders applauded Harris’ performance during the debate, with her campaign applauding what she said and criticizing Trump’s comments toward Latino and immigrant communities. Meanwhile, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio joined the chorus of Trump supporters who criticized ABC News’ debate moderators, claiming they didn’t ask Harris enough questions.
Investors said Harris performed slightly stronger. The PredictIt online prediction market for the 2024 presidential general election showed Harris’s odds improved to 56% from 52% immediately before the debate, while Trump’s odds fell to 48% from 51%.
(with contributions from agencies)
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