Key takeaways from the Harris-Trump debate – Technologist

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris faced each other on the debate stage Tuesday, September 10, for the first, and possibly the last, time.

The Democratic vice president opened the faceoff with a power move, marching across the stage to Trump’s lectern to shake his hand. “Kamala Harris,” she said, introducing herself as the pair met for the first time ever. “Let’s have a good debate.”

“Nice to see you. Have fun,” the former Republican president responded.

The exchange set the tone for the 90-minute debate to come: Harris controlled the conversation at times, baiting Trump with jabs at his economic policy, his refusal to concede his 2020 election loss and even his performance at his rallies.

Harris pins Trump on abortion rights, Capitol riots

From the opening handshake, Harris took the fight to Trump in a way that Biden could not.

In her first answer, the former prosecutor said Trump’s tariffs would effectively create a sales tax on the middle class. She soon accused Trump of presiding over the worst attack on American democracy since the Civil War – the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. She charged him with telling women what they could do with their bodies. And she mocked Trump’s praise of dictators “who would eat you for lunch.”

Harris effectively controlled much of the conversation with such attacks and baited Trump into responses that were at times vents, and at others, reminders of his wild rhetoric and fixation on the past.

“You did in fact lose that election,” Harris said of the 2020 race that Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden but still insists he won. “Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people,” she said, referring to Biden’s winning vote total.

Harris came out swinging in defense of abortion rights, perhaps the strongest issue for Democrats since Trump’s nominees created a Supreme Court majority to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion. Her sharp arguments provided a vivid contrast to President Joe Biden’s rambling comments on the issue during his June debate with Trump.

“The government, and Donald Trump, certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” Harris said. She painted a vivid picture of women facing medical complications, gut-wrenching decisions and having travel out of state for an abortion.

Trump was just as fierce in defense, saying he returned the issue to the states, an outcome he said many Americans wanted. He struggled with accuracy, however, repeating the false claim that Democrats support abortion even after babies are born. He stuck to that even after he was corrected by moderator Lynsey Davis.

“I did a great service in doing that. It took courage to do it,” Trump said of the overturning of Roe v. Wade and its constitutional protections for abortion. “And the Supreme Court had great courage in doing it. And I give tremendous credit to those six justices.” Polls have shown significant opposition to overturning Roe and voters have punished Republicans in recent elections for it.

Trump on defense

Trump had a label for Harris: ‘She is Biden’ Trump was often on defense, but he did drive the core message of his campaign: inflation and immigration are hammering Americans. Immigrants, Trump said, have “destroyed the fabric of our country.”

He repeatedly tied Harris to Biden. “She is Biden,” he said. “The worst inflation we’ve ever had,” Trump added. “A horrible economy because inflation has made it so bad. And she can’t get away with that.”

Harris responded: “Clearly, I am not Joe Biden and I am certainly not Donald Trump. And what I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country.”

Trump also went after Harris for moving away from some of the progressive positions she took in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, urging voters not to believe the more moderate tone she’s striking in this campaign.

A message to the middle

In a divided nation, the election will ultimately be decided by a small slice of swing voters in only a handful of states. And in a nod toward that fact, Harris made an explicit appeal to voters across the political spectrum – including Republicans.

She noted that she is a gun owner. She cited the “late, great John McCain,” a reference to the Arizona Republican senator and war hero whom Trump criticized for being captured by enemy soldiers. And she listed the many Republicans who formerly served in the Trump administration who have now endorsed her campaign.

Trump, meanwhile, offered little outreach to voters in the middle, ignoring the calls for unity that framed his summertime convention speech.