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A surprising performance from Kamala Harris in her first presidential debate
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By: Laila Ahmed
Introduction:
The United States will choose its next president on November 5. It is obvious that the elections will include two contenders who has nothing in common. Notably, the two contenders for US president are the most dissimilar duo in history. One who is a privileged son competing against a middle- class single mother’s daughter, a wealthy businessman against an experienced prosecutor and politician. Careless vs cautious; a previous commander in chief against the first Black and South Asian woman to seek the nomination. They come from various generations, different coasts, and various income groups.
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris met for the first time on the presidential debate stage in Philadelphia on Tuesday 10th of September. The first hour of the debate then ended much like it began – with Trump off on a long, narrowcast tangent about the 2020 election, which he claimed, falsely once again, was stolen from him. The long- awaited presidential debate was a success for the vice-president as many claims.
Overview
The vice president had spent a lot of time preparing for their argument and loaded almost every response with an offensive remark meant to provoke the outgoing president. She informed Trump that he was being ridiculed by foreign leaders and referred to as a “disgrace” by military chiefs. She referred to Trump as “wrong” and “weak.” According to her, 81 million voters, or those who supported President Joe Biden in 2020, fired Trump. Throughout a heated ninety minutes, Harris repeatedly set the former president on edge with insults at him personally, raising the stakes in this much awaited race. Her blunt accusations on the size of his rally crowds, his conduct during the Capitol
incident,and on the officials who served in his government but have subsequently become prominent critics of his campaign frequently placed Trump on the back foot. [1]
Moreover, while both contenders sidestepped questions, the vice president was strong and convincing while Donald Trump was consistently irritated and distracted. She refused to be rattled or baited by him, remaining composed the entire time. When it came to abortion rights, Ms. Harris was particularly persuasive, and the question asked to the candidates on the subject helped highlight how inconsistent Donald Trump has been in his attempts to express his opinions. The odd claim that Ms. Harris would be in favour of “executing” a newborn was made by him. Unexpectedly, Mr. Trump behaved more civilly than one might have expected, but he continued to misrepresent the situation, lie, and go off on weird tangents. For example, he claimed without providing any supporting evidence that immigrants who had overrun a city are eating the pets of the locals.[2]
Kamala Harris taking the lead
Before their presidential debate, Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in a virtual coin toss, but that was about all he prevailed in. Eight weeks before Election Day, she set the parameters of their crucial showdown from the outset on Tuesday night when the vice president walked up to Trump’s podium and practically made him shake her hand. In Harris’s opinion, the evening could not have gone better.[3]
She came across as energetic and brimmed with a positive future vision. The vice president, who has occasionally found it difficult to adjust to unplanned circumstances, gave the most powerful performance of her political career.
On the other hand, Trump appeared out of sorts as he grumbled, raged, and denounced America as a failed country. Moreover, He was frequently furious. He insisted loudly and often on the truthfulness of a wide range of lies. Regarding widespread electoral fraud in 2020, the previous president continued to peddle falsehoods. He spread false information about Democrats’ support for post-birth abortions, which is murder and forbidden everywhere, and repeated a conspiracy tale about immigrants consuming pets. He depicted a bleak picture of the country, recalling the “American carnage” he had warned of upon taking office in 2017. He even argued Trump on the Tuesday evening that the US is dying.[4]
It seems more likely that the vice president’s performance would broaden her coalition at a time when over a third of respondents indicated in a recent poll that they wanted to learn more about Harris. In the meantime, Trump hasn’t done much to alter the opinions of those crucial swing state voters who will determine the outcome of the election about his gloomy plans. He found it difficult to let go of his own first term and frequently appeared to wish he was still debating President Joe Biden, his former opponent.[5]
Key takeaways from the debate:
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Harris came to the debate with a clear plan: Throw Trump off his game.
It was, by any measure, a dramatic success, when the vice president brought up Trump’s prior criminal conviction and unresolved legal matters. He bit harder when she called him out for blocking a bipartisan immigration bill. Furthermore, Harris almost choked on the hook when she implied that Trump’s rallies were dull. The former president spoke at length about the entertainment value of his rallies, asserted that the Biden administration was legally targeting him, and, in a lengthy and bizarre spell, insisted – against all available evidence – that migrants were eating American pets. Instead of engaging on the issues raised by the moderators, including a few that Trump considers some of his political strengths.[6]
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Trump’s Conspiracy Theories
Despite signals from even his running mate, Trump did not refrain from repeating the conspiracy theory du jour during the debate. The former president brought up the absurd conspiracy theory that residents of Springfield, Ohio, who are immigrants from Haiti are consuming their neighbours’ dogs and cats.
When the topic of crime came up, Trump asserted that American crime was higher than that of other countries. Once more, Trump bowed to a different conspiracy theory asserting that the FBI is incredibly dishonest and making “defrauding statements.” He maintained, “It was a scam.” Trump stated later in the discussion that the US elections are “a mess” and asserted that Democrats are trying to get undocumented immigrants to vote in the elections.[7]
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Fierce Argument over Abortion
In contrast to Biden, Kamala Harris was able to react to the previous president’s defence of his abortion policy. The vice president has long been one of the administration’s greatest surrogates on reproductive rights.
The former president has attempted to soften his position on the matter by opposing six-week abortion prohibitions and restating his support for exceptions for rape, incest, and the mother’s life. The former president nominated three Supreme Court justices who invalidated federal abortion safeguards. However, he has also supported overturning Roe v. Wade.
In his June debate with Biden, Trump brought up numerous of the same points he had previously made against abortion. Even while Democrats and several independents were strongly against it, he maintained that “everyone” wanted the matter to be brought back to the states.
He falsely claimed, citing remarks made by former Democratic governor of Virginia and physician Ralph Northam regarding the treatment of newborns following nonviable pregnancies, that a past governor of Virginia had declared that babies should be put to death.
Additionally, Trump reiterated the untrue assertion that certain states let abortions to be carried out following childbirth, a lie that caused widespread dissent.
In response, Harris highlighted instances in which women had battled to receive care for their miscarriages or were unable to obtain abortions after being raped.
“You want to talk about people wanting this?” stated Harris. “Women who desire to carry their pregnancy to term, miscarrying and being refused medical attention in an emergency department due to fear of legal repercussions, and seeing themselves cut open in a parking lot—something she didn’t want.”[8]
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The Economy
She portrayed herself as a supporter of middle-class Americans and painting her rival as narcissistic. Looking directly into the camera, Harris responded to a question on the economy, “Donald Trump has no plan for you.”
Harris presented an economic vision that included tax breaks for small businesses and tax cuts for families, drawing on her personal biography to position herself as a “middle class kid.” She claimed that Trump would “do what he has done before, which is to provide a tax cut for billionaires and big corporations.” “Trump actually has no plan for you,” Harris went on, “because he is more interested in defending himself than he is in looking out for you.”[9]
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The Palestinian Cause
If anyone on stage on Tuesday has a detailed, comprehensive plan for putting an end to the battles in Gaza and Ukraine, they kept it from the domestic audience.
When asked how she would bring about peace in Gaza, Harris initially brought up the events of the Hamas strikes inside of Israel on October 7, 2023. Her remarks on Israel’s response, which has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians due to an ongoing attack, were countered by her support for a two-state solution, Israel’s right to self-defence, and her pledge to rebuild Gaza.
Harris proclaimed, “We need the hostages out and we need a ceasefire deal.” Recently, Biden and others acknowledged that such a deal is far off.
Trump provided considerably less information, He described Harris as someone who “hates Israel” and “Arabs.” On occasion, Trump has tried to stir up resentment among Arab Americans regarding Biden’s handling of the situation. However, on Tuesday, he quickly dropped the strategy and criticized Harris for making light of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a recent visit to Capitol Hill (she met with him, but missed his speech to Congress). He also reaffirmed his claim that the whole incident “would have never happened” if he had been in the White House.[10]
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Russian Ukranian War