Harris, Trump debate: Economy, MidEast, Ukraine in focus

At the end of the debate, Harris and Trump both gave closing statements. 

During her closing remarks, Harris repeated her oft-used phrase during the campaign: "We are not going back."

Harris said said her approach is "focused on the future" and said "we can chart a new way forward."

During Trump's remarks, he said that Harris, as part of the Biden administration, failed to "fix the border" and "create jobs."

"She should leave right now, go down to that beautfiul White House, go to the Capitol, get everyone together, and do the things you want to do but you haven't done it — you won't do it," Trump said.  

As she tried to refute Trump’s accusation that she wants to take away owners’ guns, Harris revealed that she is a gun owner, too.

"Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We’re not taking anybody’s guns away,” she said.

Harris first revealed the news in 2019. “I am a gun owner, and I own a gun for probably the reason a lot of people do — for personal safety,” Harris told reporters in Iowa. “I was a career prosecutor.”

The two candidates also traded blows over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"I want the war to stop. I want to save lives," Trump said, while claiming Joe Biden's administration allowed the invasion to happen. At the same time, Trump dodged a question on whether he wants Ukraine "to win" the war. 

Harris, meanwhile, said Trump would give in and let Russian President Vladimir Putin take over Ukraine.

"If Donald Trump were president, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now," Harris said. The vice president also said European leaders are relieved that Trump is not in office. 

Trump and Harris were asked about how they would end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Harris repeated some of her previous remarks, saying that Israel has a right to defend itself following Hamas terror attacks on October 7 that killed some 1,200 people in Israel last year.

But she added it matters how Israel did so. "This war must end," she says, adding: "It must end immediately."

She called for a cease-fire in Gaza and hostages held by militants to be freed.

She then said "we must chart a course for a two-state solution" which must ensure security for Israelis and "in equal measure" for Palestinians.

Trump was then asked about the topic. He began by claiming that the conflict would have "never started" if he were still president.

"She hates Israel. If she is president I believe that Israel will not exist in two years from now," he said.

He adds that she also "hates the Arab population" because "the whole place is getting blown up."

"I will get that settled and fast," he said, adding that the Russia-Ukraine war will also end when he is re-elected.

Harris has repeatedly vowed to support Israel's security and denied the claim.

She hit out at Trump, saying world leaders laughed at him and military leaders called him a disgrace.  

When asked about the January 6, 2021 US Capitol riot, Trump said: "I had nothing to do with that, other than they asked me to make a speech."

Trump gave a speech in Washington DC shortly before his supporters stormed the Capitol building, where he called them to "fight like hell." He also told his supporters to proceed peacefully to the Capitol at the time.  

The Capitol riot came after months of Trump falsely claiming that Joe Biden "rigged" the 2020 election. Trump filed numerous lawsuits after the election to dispute the results, the vast majority of them being shot down.      

During the debate, the president also said he was showing sarcasm recently when he said he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden by a whisker.

"Look, there's so much proof. All you have to do is look at... I got almost 75 million votes, the most votes any sitting president has ever gotten," Trump said, while refusing to say he lost.

 

During the debate, Trump repeated a false story about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio eating pets. Local police in Springfield have received no reports regarding Haitians or anyone else eating pets, according to local media. 

Harris leaned into her middle-class background and her plans to create an “opportunity economy” while lashing out at Trump as out of touch.

“Donald Trump has no plan for you. And when you look at his economic plan, it’s all about tax breaks for the richest people,” she says.

Trump pushed back against the claim, saying Harris is an empty vessel when it comes to the economy, saying: “She doesn’t have a plan. She copied Biden’s plan.”

The Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade, which has led to abortion being restricted across the country, also was touched on during the debate. The conservative-majority court overturned the decadeslong ruling in 2022, thanks to three justices appointed by Trump.

"I pledge to you, when Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protection of Roe v. Wade as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law," Harris said.

Harris also said Trump supports a nationwide abortion ban, which the former president denied. 

Trump, meanwhile, said he believes "in the exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother."

He also reiterated his claims that abortion laws in some states allow for the execution of new-born babies. A DW fact-check find that claim to be false. 

Both Harris and Trump traded barbs over the impact of Trump's tariffs and the US relationship with China.

Harris then blames Trump for not pressing Chinese leaders for “transparency about the origins of the COVID.”

Trump correctly notes that most tariffs imposed by his administration have been kept by the Biden administration.

Harris criticized Trump's plans to raise more tariffs on goods from China and other countries, calling it a "sales tax" on Americans.

Trump, meanwhile, said the tariffs would raise money for the United States and claimed that tariffs would not raise prices for consumers. 

"They are not going to have higher prices," Trump said regarding his plans to implement tariffs on goods from abroad.    

Some economists have backed Harris' claims that the tariffs would raise prices. Trump claims that the money raised from tariffs would be used to lower taxes on Americans.  

Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation project that was put together by hundreds of high-profile conservatives. “I haven’t read it. I don’t want to read it, purposefully. I’m not going to read it,” he says.

The project has controversial ideas like cutting abortion and a reduction of the federal government's role in education.

Harris and Trump met each other for the first time as the debate kicked off. The two candidates did a handshake before taking to their respective podiums.

The first topic of the debate was the economy and cost of living. ABC News anchor David Muir asked Harris if Americans are better off than they were four years ago in regards to rising prices.

Harris didn't answer the question directly, but rather outlined her economic plans if she takes office. She also mentioned a Goldman Sachs report which said that a Harris term would strengthen the economy while Trump's policies would stifle growth.     

Trump criticized rising costs of goods such as bacon during incumbent President Joe Biden's term. He also claimed that Harris "copied Biden's plan" for the economy. 

The election will be on Tuesday, 5 November 2024 and the winner will serve a term of four years in the White House beginning January 2025.

When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a group of people called electors.

Except in the states of Maine and Nebraska, if a candidate receives the majority of the votes from the people of a state then the candidate will receive all electoral votes of that state.

The candidate who garners 270 or more electoral votes is declared the winner. There are 538 electoral votes in all. 

Certain states such as New York and California, tend to almost always vote for the Democratic nominee over the past few decades. There are also states such as Wyoming and Alabama which almost always vote for Republicans in recent cycles.

The contenders are therefore competing for a handful of states that could potentially be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate. 

Swing states this election cycle include Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina.

Recent surveys show a virtual tie between Harris and Trump in many of these swing states, meaning the presidential debate could tilt the race in either candidate's favor.        

Here's how the elections work in full.

 

The presidential debate has long been a hallmark of the American electoral process. This one comes at a time with 55 days left before voters cast their ballot for president.

Kamala Harris rose to the top of the ticket after Joe Biden dropped out of the race on July 21 following his poor performance at what was the first presidential debate of the 2024 race against Donald Trump.

Biden, facing scrutiny for being in his eighties, endorsed Harris after he ended his reelection bid. 

Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told AP news agency that debates mostly “reinforce voters’ ideas” but still are important in moving voters who have yet to decide whom to support or whether to vote at all.

And that “can change the outcomes in close races.” Both Donald Trump’s election in 2016 and Joe Biden’s in 2020 were decided by fewer than 100,000 votes spread across three states.

Reporters covering the Harris campaign say that voters will have a chance to learn about Harris, whom they've only recently gotten a chance to know as a presidential candidate.

Harris's team is laying out the issues she hopes to inform voters on — including abortion and immigration.

Trump's age, 79, has been in focus, as he faces a younger 59-year-old Harris. 

Reporters in touch with Donald Trump's team say that Trump is no stranger to rallies and TV interviews that last for an hour or more. He is also fairly quick on his feet. This will be his seventh presidential debate.

TV presidential debates sometimes fade away in the fast-paced campaign news cycle, but they can also leave a lasting impression. Experts say debates usually turn into memorable ones if they reveal something about the character or capacity of the candidate.

For example, in 1992, President George H.W. Bush was criticized for looking down at his watch during the trilateral debate with Democrat Bill Clinton and independent candidate Ross Perot.

He lost the election to Clinton that year. The moment has gone down in history as one of the most infamous TV debate moments.

Former Republican Donald Trump has landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ahead of the debate with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris arrived in Philadelphia a night prior, after having spending several days in another part of Pennsylvania preparing for the matchup.  

It will be the first time Trump and Harris have seen each other in person.