Fiery first debate between Donald Trump, Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump met for their first — and potentially only — debate on Tuesday, at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
It was also the first time the two met in person. In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Harris said she and Trump had never met. The only time they were in the same room was when she attended Trump’s State of the Union addresses as a senator.
A lot rode on the candidates’ performances, with Trump and Harris polling neck and neck ahead of the debate.
Deseret News’ Samuel Benson is in Philadelphia to cover the debate and speak to surrogates for the two campaigns when it is done.
Tuesday’s debate was hosted by ABC News, with moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, anchors of “World News Tonight.”
The first question of the night was on the economy. Muir asked, “do you believe Americans are better off than they were four years ago?”
Harris started out by speaking about the economic policies she has released, including increasing the child tax credit. She didn’t speak about the policies she and President Joe Biden have championed over the past four years. She also hit Trump on his policies, equating his plan to put tariffs on goods coming in the U.S. a “Trump sales tax.”
During his response, Trump hit back at Harris over the inflation Americans have experienced over the past four years.
“This has been a disaster for people,” Trump said.
On a question about his plan for tariffs, Trump said he does not think Americans will end up having to pay more because of tariffs, while Harris hit back by criticizing his response to COVID-19.
The second question of the night was on Trump’s changing opinions on abortion. Trump responded by saying Harris was extreme on the issue because she wants abortion to be legal through nine months of pregnancy. He also said he thinks states should be able to determine their own abortion policies.
Harris said Trump put Supreme Court justices in place who would overturn Roe v. Wade, and called states’ laws limiting abortion “Trump abortion bans.”
Trump said he would not sign a ban, claiming Congress would not bring a ban to him to sign. He said abortion laws should be passed at the state level, adding the issue has been tearing the country apart for 52 years.
Harris brought up the concerns of women who had faced questions over terminating difficult pregnancies.
Harris said as California attorney general she prosecuted transnational organizations, and said Trump helped kill a bipartisan bill on the border that would have added border agents and changed asylum claims.
“You know why? Because he prefers to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem,” she said.
She also made claims about Trump’s rallies, and said he rambled and that people left early, leading him to respond by insulting her rallies.
“People don’t leave my rallies, we have the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics. That’s because people want to take their country back. Our country is being lost. We’re a failing nation, and it happened three and a half years ago,” he said.
Trump also said migrants were flooding cities in the U.S. and said he would engage in the largest deportation campaign in the history of the country. Trump also repeated unconfirmed accusations made by people online that migrants in Ohio were attacking people’s pets.
Harris was asked why she has changed her position on so many issues, including fracking and immigration.
Fracking is a major industry in Pennsylvania, where the debate was being held, which Harris acknowledged. She said she supported fracking as vice president, and would continue to try to make the U.S. more energy independent.
Trump said he believes Harris would oppose fracking as she had in the past, and that she also supported defunding the police in the past.
Muir asked Trump if there was anything he regretted about his decisions on Jan. 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the Capitol.
“I had nothing to do with that, other than they asked me to make a speech,” he said, after Muir asked a follow up question.
Trump said the riots would not have happened if former Speaker Nancy Pelosi had done her job and had adequate security in place that day. He also spoke about people who rioted in 2020 in cities like Seattle and Minneapolis, and said they had not been prosecuted. He would not directly address why it took so long for him to ask the protesters to stand down.
Harris said she was in the U.S. Capitol on the day of the Jan. 6 riots, and also brought up racist protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
Trump said the Biden-Harris administration has been weak on foreign policy, which led to Ukraine being invaded by Russia and Hamas launching an attack on civilians in Israel. He also criticized the administration for allowing Iran to get closer to having an atomic bomb, and Harris for not meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he was in Washington, D.C.
Harris said Trump would capitulate to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and said the nation’s defense of Ukraine was necessary. She also said the U.S.’ membership in NATO was critical, and criticized Trump for “adoring strongmen.”
On Afghanistan, Harris was asked about the U.S.’ withdrawal from the country and whether she bore any responsibility for the botched withdrawal.
Harris said she supported the U.S. leaving the country, then pivoted to criticizing Trump for the agreement he made to withdraw from the country.
Trump said the Biden administration “blew it” on the withdrawal from Afghanistan, calling it one of “the most embarrassing moments in the history of our country.”
The moderators asked Trump about his past comments on Harris’ race.
He replied by saying, “I read where she was not Black … and then I read that she was Black. And that’s okay. Either one was okay with me. That’s up to her.”
Harris replied by saying Trump had been divisive on race.
“This is the same individual who spread birther lies about the first Black president of the United States, and I think the American people want better than that,” she said.
Harris was asked about her past support for a public health care system, and she said she supports private health care options.
Trump was vague about what he would do to replace the Affordable Care Act if it was repealed, but said he would not repeal it.
In her closing statement, Harris returned to her earlier theme that she would support middle class families. She also said she would support the U.S. military, and said she would be a “president for all Americans.”
In his closing statement, Trump focused on Harris’ role as vice president, and asked her why she hasn’t implemented her ideas over the past three-and-a-half years that she has been in power. Trump said the country is in decline, and called Harris the “worst” vice president in the history of the country.
After multiple rounds of negotiations, Harris and Trump agreed to stick to the same rules in place between Trump and Biden, who dropped out of the presidential election in the wake of a disastrous debate performance in June. He then endorsed Harris, who secured the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in August.
At Tuesday’s 90-minute debate, there was not a live audience or opening statements. Trump gave the last closing statement after winning a coin toss. The candidates’ microphones were turned off when the other was answering a question.
Harris had wanted to change the debate rules to keep mics open, but the Trump team rejected that change.
Neither candidate was allowed to have props or pre-written notes, but they did have water, a notepad and a pen. They stood behind their podiums for the duration of the debate.
The network said it did not provide the candidates with questions and debate topics in advance, and campaign staff did not speak to the candidates during the two commercial breaks.