US: Harris, Trump square off in high-stakes TV debate

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. 

The ABC News Presidential Debate will be the first time that Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have met each other in person.

Trump decided not to attend US President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021, after Trump lost the 2020 election. It's custom for outgoing presidents to attend the inauguration ceremony, which could have been an occasion for Harris and Trump to meet. 

Harris was also present at several of Trump's State of the Union addresses. In 2020, both Trump and Harris attended funeral services to mourn Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but on different days.  

Although the debate questions will not be released before the event, several topics will likely be mentioned during the debate.

Economy and cost of living

The economy and inflation is one of those topics. Trump, who served as president from early 2017 to early 2021, has touted economic growth in the US during his administration prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Trump has frequently criticized inflation in the US since President Joe Biden took office on January 20, 2021 and has promised to bring the cost of housing and groceries down. Trump is expected to tie Harris, who serves as Biden's vice president, to higher prices hurting consumers during the current administration. 

Harris, meanwhile, has unveiled new proposals to prevent price gouging on food items and construct affordable housing if she takes office. Harris may also criticize Trump for lowering taxes on the wealthy during his term in office and for being against unions.  

Immigration

Another subject that's sure to come up is immigration.

Trump has criticized the Biden administration's handling of irregular migration at the southern US border with Mexico and accused the current White House of allowing an "invasion" of people and drugs into the US. Trump will again likely pin Harris to Biden's handling of the issue and claim that the situation will worsen if she takes office. 

Harris, meanwhile, will likely accuse Trump of thwarting the passage of a bipartisan border bill which would add more border agents and increase detention beds for undocumented migrants. She might also say Trump is using extremist language on the issue, with the former president having said "Illegal immigration is poisoning the blood of our nation."

Abortion

Abortion is a major hot-button issue this election cycle. 

In 2022, the conservative-majority Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a decades-old ruling which said that the US Constitution generally protects a women's right to have an abortion. Three of the conservative justices on the court were appointed by Trump. 

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, mostly conservative states across the US have been implementing either full or partial bans on abortion. Harris will likely tie Trump to the abortion bans and accuse the former president of backing a nationwide ban on the practice. 

Trump, meanwhile, has touted Roe v. Wade getting overturned and falsely claimed that "every legal scholar" backed the Supreme Court overruling the decision.   

January 6 Capitol riots

The January 6, 2021 Capitol riots will likely be brought up by Harris.

She may claim Trump's rhetoric and denial of his loss to Biden in the 2020 election is the direct cause of the violence of that day. Trump, meanwhile, may downplay the issue or still falsely claim that the 2020 election was rigged.

Foreign policy      

Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war will also likely be brought up. Trump has claimed that neither of those events would have occurred if he were still in office, while Harris will likely defend Biden's approach to the issues and give her plans of how she will handle these crises if she wins the White House.  

President Joe Biden said he had a chance to speak with Vice President Kamala Harris before debate night, saying she "seemed calm, cool and collected."

Biden didn't tell reporters about the advice he offered her. The president will spend the night in New York where he said he will celebrate his granddaughter Finnegan’s birthday and watch the debate. 

Harris's running mate is Tim Walz, whose press team said he will be at a watch party in Phoenix that will be livestreamed.

JD Vance, Donald Trump's nominee for vice president, will take part in a closed press debate hosted by the Republical National Convention chairman in Philadelphia.  

Following the debate, Vance is expected to be in the spin room — where friends and allies campaign on behalf of their candidates. Reporters also gather there.

This blog will feature a livestream of the Harris-Trump debate once it begins at 9 p.m. ET (0100 UTC/0300 CEST). 

Follow along for DW's coverage of key moments during the televised duel and analysis of the event. 

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican Donald Trump will go head to head in a televised debate on Tuesday.  

The debate will take place in Philadelphia in the northeastern US state of Pennsylvania and will be broadcast by US broadcaster ABC News. The venue is Philadelphia's National Constitution Center.  

The ABC News Presidential Debate will be broadcast at 9 p.m. ET (0100 UTC). 

ABC anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis will moderate the debate, which will last 90 minutes with two breaks for commercials. Muir and Davis will be the only people asking Harris and Trump questions during the debate. 

Harris and Trump will not give opening statements during the debate. There will, however, be closing statements by the two candidates. 

Trump won a virtual coin toss on September 3, which allows him to pick the order of the closing statements. Trump has chosen to give the last closing statement at the debate, giving him the last word at the event. 

The two candidates will each have two minutes to answer questions, which will then be followed by two-minute rebuttals and one extra minute for extra clarification and responses.  

There will be no live audience at the debate. Moreover, a candidate's mic will be muted while their rival is speaking. 

wd/rm (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)