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The vice president appeared powerful and in command of the night’s events. Trump? Not so much.
In what will likely be remembered as one of the most chaotic and bizarre presidential debates in modern history, Vice PresidentKamala Harrisdelivered a strong and steady performance while former President Donald Trump descended into outlandish and false claims. In Philadelphia, Trump stunned by falsely accusing Harris of supporting “transgender operations on illegal aliens in prison” and went as far as to claim that immigrants in the U.S. were “eating the dogs” and “cats” of American citizens. Trump spoke of conspiracy theories and spewed baseless accusations.
There was no mention of LGBTQ+ Americans during the debate besides the anti-trans attempt at a smear that Trump made.
Harris focused on policy throughout the debate, where she outlined her plan for an “opportunity economy” designed to uplift working families, small businesses, and the middle class.
“I believe in the ambition, the aspirations, the dreams of the American people,” Harris said, offering solutions to lower the cost of living and create jobs.
In contrast, Trump’s responses were filled with misinformation and exaggeration.
Despite the absurdity of Trump’s assertions, Harris directly addressed the former president’s lies. “You’re going to hear a bunch of lies,” she told viewers, framing Trump’s tactics as not only desperate but detached from reality. Harris was unafraid to confront Trump’s repeated misinformation.
One of the sharpest contrasts between the candidates was on reproductive rights. Harris staunchly defended reproductive choice and promised to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade, which Trump’s Supreme Court appointees helped overturn, which Trump’s Supreme Court appointees helped overturn. Harris highlighted the dangerous consequences of Trump-backed abortion bans, which make it “criminal for a doctor or nurse to provide health care,” even in cases of rape or incest.
Trump, on the other hand, vacillated on his stance, at one point boasting about his role in overturning Roe and at another denying that he would support a national abortion ban. His contradictions only deepened the confusion. When pressed by moderator Linsey Davis on whether he would veto a national abortion ban, Trump awkwardly dodged the question, claiming, “I won’t have to because… she’ll never get the vote.”
Immigration was another area where Trump’s rhetoric veered into dangerous and false territory. His baseless claim that immigrants were eating pets in American towns—an assertion immediately debunked by moderator David Muir—was emblematic of Trump’s scare tactics. “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats,” Trump said, even after Muir cited a local official who confirmed that no such incidents had occurred.
Harris responded to these wild claims with clarity and focused on comprehensive immigration reform. “What we have in the former president is someone who would prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem,” she said. Harris offered a sharp critique of Trump’s divisive approach while highlighting her record of prosecuting transnational criminal organizations.
When the former president attempted to stoke racial tensions by questioning Harris’s racial identity, saying he “didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago,” Harris offered a pointed rebuttal, reminding voters of Trump’s long history of using race to divide the country.
“I think it’s a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be president who has consistently, over the course of his career, attempted to use race to divide the American people,” Harris said. “The vast majority of us know that we have so much more in common than what separates us.”
As the debate wore on, Trump’s performance became increasingly erratic, with outlandish claims about immigration, trans health care, and the 2020 election.
He even went as far as to claim that immigrants were responsible for “migrant crime,” despite FBI data showing that violent crime has been decreasing in the United States.
Harris, by contrast, discussed her plans to address fundamental issues affecting Americans, from healthcare to housing. Trump, meanwhile, seemed stuck in the past, still unwilling to admit that he lost the 2020 election. “No, I don’t acknowledge that at all,” he said when asked directly if he accepted the outcome.
By the end of the debate, the contrast between the two candidates could not have been more apparent. While Trump floundered with lies and divisive rhetoric, pundits and viewers seem to agree that Harris won. Her calm demeanor and policy-concentrating responses starkly contrasted Trump’s disjointed and often bizarre attacks.
“We can chart a new way forward,” Harris declared in her closing statement, promising to focus on “the aspirations, the dreams, the hopes, the ambition of the American people.”
