Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks as Donald Trump gestures during a presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 2024. | Source: SAUL LOEB / Getty
Vice President Kamala Harris clearly got under Donald Trump‘s skin with a steady stream of facts to counter his lies Tuesday night in Philadelphia during their first and possibly only presidential debate.
As a result, Harris displayed her mastery of the issues while Trump conversely was mostly relegated to irrelevant soundbites including commentary about his campaign rallies and debunked conspiracy theories about migrants stealing and eating pets.
MORE: ‘You Are A Disgrace’: At Debate, Kamala Harris Reminds Trump How World Leaders Really Feel About Him
Harris used the latter to her advantage while hammering Trump on his positions on a wide-ranging selection of issues that included the economy, abortion, immigration, democracy and the topic of race, to name but a few.
Keep reading to find some key takeaways from Vice President Kamala Harris’ first presidential debate against Donald Trump.
Trump doesn’t have a plan for healthcare
When the debate turned to the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, Trump was asked about his plan to replace the national health insurance law.
After speaking in nonsequiturs without actually answering the question, moderator Linsey Davis, an anchor with ABC News, asked Trump point blank: “You still do not have a plan?”
Trump, in classic Trump form, responded with what was likely another of his lies with which critics use to mock him.
“I have concepts of a plan,” Trump said without admitting that he doesn’t actually have a plan and instead only opposes Obamacare because it was created by President Barack Obama, the first Black President of the United States who Trump for years has falsely accused of not being an American citizen.
“I‘m not president right now,” Trump continued, “but if we come up with something, I would only change it if we come up with something…You’ll be hearing about it in the not-so-distant future.”
Yes, he actually said that.
Trump’s fateful words immediately went viral via memes for all the wrong reasons.
On the topic of race
The debate moderators asked Trump to expound on the comments about Harris’ racial heritage that he made in July during an appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago. Back then, Trump falsely claimed Harris only identified as a Black woman for political purposes.
“Whatever she want to be is fine with me,” Trump said Tuesday night before adding later: “I read where she was not Black.”
That, in turn, allowed Harris to wax poetic about Trump’s established and documented history of anti-Black racism, in particular.
It’s a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be president that has consistently over the course of his career attempted to use race to divide the American people,” Harris accurately pointed out before running down a laundry list of examples of Trump’s racism.
Harris reminded debate viewers “how Donald Trump started” by being “investigated because he refused to rent property to Black families.”
Harris also recalled how Trump criminalized five Black and brown boys who were falsely accused of raping a white woman as well as how Trump spread birther lies about Obama.
“I think the American people want better than that,” Harris said of Trump.
On election denial
While discussing the topic of a peaceful transfer of political power, the debate moderators reminded Trump that he said last week that he lost the election “by a whisker.”
But on Tuesday night, Trump claimed he said that comment “sarcastically” and insisted that “There’s so much proof” he won despite plenty of evidence to the contrary.
Harris pointed to those lies as why she said: “World leaders are laughing at Donald Trump.”
Harris also said that it is “deeply troubling” that Trump doesn’t have “the ability to not be confused about facts,” noting that “the American people deserve better.”
On Trump rallies
In a petty moment executed to perfection, Harris placed focus on Trump’s infamous campaign rallies during a discussion about immigration.
Knowing how proud Trump is of his rallies, Harris mocked the substance of his speeches to crowds assembled there.
“I’m going to actually do something really unusual and I’m going to invite you to attend one of Donald Trump’s rallies,” Harris said. “He talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter. He will talk about how windmills cause cancer. What you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom. The one thing you will not hear him talk about is you.”
Trump took that last part personally, launching into a diatribe about a debunked racist conspiracy theory claiming Haitian migrants were stealing pets and eating them, prompting debate moderator to quickly correct Trump.
On deportations
When debate moderators asked Trump how he would make good on his vow to deport every single undocumented immigrant from the U.S., he didn’t answer and instead deflected to President Joe Biden’s administration’s policies.
Harris pounced when it was her time to speak.
“I think this is so rich coming from someone who has been prosecuted for national security crimes. Economic crimes, election interference. Has been found liable for sexual assault,” Harris said while pointing out Trump’s stances on crime.
Harris questioned Trump’s stated “respect for the rule of law” before encouraging Americans to “turn the page on this same old tired rhetoric.”
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