Donald Trump and Kamala Harris Engage in Fiery Debate (original) (raw)

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump met for a fierce clash in Philadelphia on Tuesday, debating topics like abortion and immigration, as Trump veered at times into deep MAGA territory.

Harris put Trump on defense for much of the night, baiting him on sensitive subjects like the size of his crowds, his Wharton degree, and the outcome of the 2020 election.

At one point, Trump recycled a viral, debunked rumor accusing Haitian immigrants in Ohio of eating household pets.

“They’re eating the dogs,” he said. “The people that came in — they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”

Trump argued that Harris would merely be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency, and that Biden and Harris are “destroying” the country.

“They’ve had three and a half years to fix the border,” Trump said. “They’ve had three and a half years to create jobs…. Why hasn’t she done it?”

Harris warned from the outset that Trump would lie throughout the debate, and she returned to the theme several times.

“Stop with the continuous lying about this stuff,” she said.

She also argued, when asked about Trump’s comments about her race, that the American people “want better than this.”

“We don’t want a leader who is constantly trying to have Americans point their fingers at each other,” she said. “The American people know we all have so much more in common than what separates us.”

The moderators — David Muir and Linsey Davis — stepped in a few times to correct the former president, which played to Harris’ advantage. Muir quoted the city manager of Springfield, Ohio, who said there were “no credible reports” of animals in his city being harmed by immigrants.

Harris chuckled when asked for a rebuttal. “Talk about extreme…” she said. The Trump campaign quickly circulated a Federalist article about a police report of Haitians goose-hunting.

Trump also gave a full-throated defense of his conduct on Jan. 6, saying he had urged his supports to act “peacefully and patriotically.”

“And nobody on the other side was killed,” he said. “Ashley Babbitt was shot by an out of control police officer that should never, ever shot her. It’s a disgrace.”

He also reiterated that he believes the 2020 election was stolen.

“Look, there’s so much proof,” he said. “All you have to do is look at it, and they should have sent it back to the legislatures for approval.”

Moments earlier, Harris warned that Trump would likely make wild claims, inviting viewers to take a look at his rallies where he talks about Hannibal Lecter, a fictional character, and about how windmills cause cancer.

“People start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom,” she said. “You will not hear him talk about your needs, your dreams and your needs and your desires.”

The first 30 minutes offered a relatively cogent debate on issues including abortion, trade and immigration. Harris took aim at Trump on abortion, saying he was responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade and for abortion bans in 20 states.

“The government, and Donald Trump, certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” she said.

Trump said he was proud to have helped overturn Roe.

“I did a great service in doing it,” he said. “It took courage to do it, and the Supreme Court had great courage in doing it.”

The abortion issue led to another moment when a moderator intervened. Davis corrected Trump, saying there is “no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born.”

Harris argued that Trump would raise costs for American consumers with a tariff of up to 20% on imports, while giving tax cuts to millionaires.

Trump, meanwhile, sought to portray Harris as an empty suit, saying that she had copied Biden’s plans and had even borrowed from his positions on trade.

“She’s going to my philosophy now. In fact, I was going to send her a MAGA hat,” Trump said. “But 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’s a Marxist professor in economics, and he taught her well.”

Trump and Harris were meeting for the first time, and perhaps the last during the campaign. There are no plans for further presidential debates, though JD Vance and Tim Walz are set to hold a vice presidential debate on CBS on Oct. 1.

In August, Trump floated the possibility of a second debate against Harris on NBC in late September. After the debate concluded, Harris’ campaign called for another debate in October.

“Vice President Harris ready for a second debate,” said Jen O’Malley Dillon, the campaign chair, in a statement. “Is Donald Trump?”