US presidential debate: Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have taken the stage at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia for their highly anticipated debate. This is the first time the two candidates have met in person.
As the debate commenced, Harris walked over to Trump’s podium to extend her hand, and the two engaged in a brief handshake.With this symbolic gesture, the debate officially began, marking a significant moment in this election cycle.
This debate comes months after President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the election on July 21 and endorsed Vice President Harris.
Here’s who said what-
Economy
Kamala Harris, facing scrutiny from the White House regarding the economy, emphasized her upbringing as a “middle class kid” and expressed her commitment to fostering an “opportunity economy.” She strongly denounced President Trump’s policies, arguing that they would lead to increased financial burdens for the American people. “I believe in the ambition, the aspiration, the dreams of the American people,” she said. She touted her plans to build an “opportunity economy,” including her proposals to make housing more affordable and expand the child tax credit.
Kamala Harris said their administration had to “clean up Donald Trump’s mess” after his four years in the White House.
She accused Trump of leaving the US with “the worst unemployment since the great depression,” “the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War,” and “the worst public health epidemic in a century.”
Meanwhile, former President Trump refuted Harris’s assertion that he intends to impose a “sales tax” on everyday items, labeling her claim as an “incorrect statement.”
Trump clarified, “She knows that we’re doing tariffs on other countries. Other countries are going to finally, after 75 years, pay us back for all that we’ve done for the world.”
He further elaborated, “And the tariff will be substantial in some cases. I took in billions and billions of dollars, as you know, from China. In fact, they never took the tariff off because it was so much money.”

Abortion rights
Kamala Harris criticised Trump’s stance on abortion rights, asserting that he should not dictate what a woman does with her body. She expressed her support for reinstating Roe v Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that had previously protected abortion rights nationwide.
Harris highlighted the consequences of the Trump abortion bans, which have been implemented in more than 20 states. These bans criminalize healthcare providers, such as doctors and nurses, for offering abortion services. In one state, the penalty for providing such care can result in life imprisonment. Shockingly, these bans make no exceptions, even in cases of rape or incest.
“Trump abortion bans that make no exception, even for rape and incest, which, understand what that means, a survivor of a crime of violation to their body does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body,” Harris said.

She further condemned the bans as immoral, stating that one does not need to compromise their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government, and especially Donald Trump, should not have the authority to control a woman’s bodily autonomy.
“Next, that is immoral, and one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” Harris asserted. She pledged to sign legislation that would restore the protections provided by Roe v Wade, should Congress approve such a measure.
Trump has expressed his stance on abortion, stating in an April video on his Truth Social platform that “states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land.” This position aligns with the recently updated Republican National Committee platform.
Notably, the platform does not include any mention of a nationwide ban on abortion, a policy that certain social conservative factions had hoped to see incorporated. However, Trump has openly declared his opposition to such a ban at the federal level, instead favoring leaving the decision to individual states.
Donald Trump called Kamala Harris a “Marxist” and said that her father was also a Marxist professor. It is pertinent to mention that he was a retired Stanford University economist.
“If she ever got elected, she’d change it. And it will be the end of our country. She’s a Marxist; everybody knows she’s a Marxist. Her father is a Marxist professor in economics, and he taught her well,” Trump said.
Immigration policies
Donald Trump slammed Kamala Harris and Biden administration over illegal migration into the US and claimed that she is destroying the country. “She is destroying this country. We will become Venezuela on steroids if she becomes president,” Donald Trump said.
“You see what’s happening with towns throughout the United States. You look at Springfield, Ohio. You look at Aurora in Colorado, they are taking over the towns. They’re taking over buildings. They’re going in violently. These are the people that she and Biden led into our country, and they’re destroying our country. They’re dangerous. They’re at the highest level of criminality. And we have to get them out,” he said.
Meanwhile, Harris has quickly started to try to counter Trump’s attacks on her immigration record during her campaign and outlined her policies.
Donald Trump again claimed that pets were being stolen from their houses by Haitian immigrants who were consuming the pets.
“In Springfield they are eating dogs, cats. They are eating the pets of the people who live there. We will end up being Venezuela on steroids,” he said. However ABC news anchor corrected him saying that they reached out to the city manager of Springfield, Ohio and he denied all reports of pets being attacked.
Capitol riot
On being asked about being regretful about the January 6 riots, Trump said that he offered to give soldiers to then White House speaker Nancy Pelosi to fight against the rioters but she refused to accept it.
“I have nothing to do with that other than that they asked me to make a speech. Nancy Pelosi is fully responsible for that.”
Reacting on Trump’s comments on Capitol attack, the vice president said, “I was at the Capitol on January 6. The President of the US incited a violent mob to attract our nation’s capital, to desecrate our nation’s capital.”
“On that day, 140 law enforcement officers were injured and some died,” she said. “And understand the former president has been indicted and impeached for exactly that reason. But this is not an isolated situation.”
Policy on Israel
The former president Trump again claimed that the Israel will be gone under Kamala’s administration. “She hates Israel. She didn’t even meet Netanyahu when he visited Congress. She also hates the Arab population. Look at what is happening in the middle east. This would have never happened if I were president.”
Refuting his claims, the vice president said, “That’s absolutely not true. I have my entire career and life supported Israel and the Israeli people.”
She also said that Israel “has the right to defend itself,” adding “we would” if the United States were attacked. The vice president went on to advocate for a “two-state solution.”
Policy on Russia-Ukraine war
On being asked whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war against Russia, Trump responded, “I want the war to stop and want to save lives,” declining to take sides between Russia and Ukraine. Meanwhile, the vice president claimed that if Trump become the president, Russian President Vladimir Putin will be sitting in Ukraine.
“I think why Donald Trump says this war would be over in 24 hours because he would give it up. If Trump were president, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now,” Kamala said.
“Putin would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe, starting with Poland,” Harris said, noting “how quickly you would give up for the sake of favor and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch.”
Harris said it was an example of why America’s NATO allies were thankful he was no longer in office, as she and Biden have sent tens of billions of dollars to help Kyiv fend off Russia’s invasion.
Guns policy
Trump claimed that the vice president has a plan to confiscate everybody’s gun. Refuting the claims, Harris said, “Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We’re not taking anybody’s guns away so stop with the continuous lying about this stuff.”
Racial divide
One of the most talked about Harris was her ethnicity, race. Earlier, in several rallies, Trump called upon Harris for being black and Asian woman.
Answering to question why he had publicly questioned Harris’ dual heritage as a Black and South Asian woman, Trump said, “I don’t care what she is … I read that she was Black. Then I read that she was not Black.”
Asked to respond, Harris accused Trump of using race to divide Americans throughout his career. She cited how he and his father turned away Black renters in the 1970s and how Trump led the public outcry against five young Black and Latino men who were wrongly convicted of assaulting a jogger in New York City’s Central Park in 1989.
More recently, he openly questioned whether President Barack Obama was a US citizen, Harris noted.
“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,” she said.
Harris emphasised that the American people deserve better than a leader who persistently encourages citizens to point fingers at one another. “I think the American people want better than that,” Harris added. “We don’t want a leader who is constantly trying to have Americans point their fingers at each other.”
In response to the criticism, Trump shifted the focus back to economic matters and attempted to associate Biden’s economic policies with Harris, suggesting that she was trying to distance herself from Biden. “She’s trying to get away from Biden,” he said.
Seizing the opportunity presented by the attack, Harris positioned herself as a transformative leader for the nation, emphasizing her unique identity and leadership style. “Clearly, I am not Joe Biden, and certainly not Donald Trump,” Harris said, “and what I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country.”