After weeks of back and forth regarding whether or not both presidential candidates would participate in a debate, former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris took to the stage in their first head-to-head showdown since officially becoming their party’s respective nominees. As you might imagine, the 90-minute debate was action-packed. Here are the highlights.
Harris Came In With A Clear Strategy
To give you an idea of the tone of the debate last night, let me explain what Harris’s true intent for the evening seemed to be. Harris wanted the audience — American voters — to remember her as a candidate with strong policies they could stand behind and as someone they could see leading this country. But more than that, it seems Harris’s major goal was to get under Trump’s skin. And it looks like she succeeded. From the first minute on stage, she crossed to meet Trump and initiated a handshake, throwing him off guard. She then proceeded to poke the bear with smart comments designed to provoke Trump into a stuttering incompetence typically reserved for his rallies. And it worked. A particularly strong moment for her was when she invited the audience to attend a Trump rally, describing the way he talks about nonsense and how attendees often begin “leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom.” As she predicted, Trump took the bait; he was thrown off his game, performing at the debate the way he often performs at his rallies.
Trump Makes Some Truly Wild Claims
On the debate stage, Trump said some incredibly baffling things. One thing he said, verbatim, was that “[Harris] wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison.” I honestly can’t tell you what the purpose of the statement was other than to be an amalgamation of buzzwords designed to invigorate his base.
He also made baseless claims about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio eating people’s dogs and cats. This anti-immigrant rhetoric was based on a conspiracy theory, but Trump stated it as fact. He made similar claims about abortion, commenting on Democratic support of abortion after birth, which is simply not true. Linsey Davis, a moderator with ABC News, swiftly pointed out that “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born.” This push from the moderators for truth on the debate stage paints a clear picture of why Harris was so insistent on keeping the debate on a more nonpartisan network like ABC rather than one like Fox News.
Here’s What’s Happened Since
After the debate, Harris’s campaign almost immediately began pushing for a second debate. The official statement on the debate posted to her campaign social media pages writes “Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?” With how much he fought against this debate occurring, it’s anyone’s guess what will happen with the next one.
In other news, Taylor Swift officially endorsed Harris as her pick for President. This decision was unsurprising to those who are aware of her endorsement of President Biden in the 2020 election. Her thoughtful statement explained her perspective on the candidates while inviting her fanbase to do their research, come to their own decisions, and vote on them. She signs the post with both her name and the term “Childless Cat Lady,” a callback to an insult for Democratic women from Trump’s running mate, JD Vance.
What Happens Now?
Most of the Internet will agree that Harris was the obvious winner of the debate, but does it matter? Only time will tell. In any case, opinions on the candidates only matter if you act on them. Remember to make sure you’re registered to vote and take action this November.
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