Many tuned into tonight's Presidential Debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, but few expected the outcome that we saw last night. Both President Trump and Kamala Harris were able to respond to each other and made their points in aggressive fashion, yet the debate didn't really seem like it went out of line that much. Despite the preaching of the fact checkers on CNN's homepage right now, there were many key takeaways from this debate.
Trump Dominated on the Economy
Kamala Harris began the night by addressing her plan to provide $6,000 for every family with a newborn for the first year of that child's life. She also falsely stated that former President Trump wanted to impose a 20% sales tax on Americans. A brief fact check shows that the federal government has never imposed a sales tax, including under former President Trump.
On her first rabbit trail of the night, she accused President Trump of supporting Project 2025, a view for a conservative takeover and solidification of American conservatism in America for years to come. Donald Trump denied having anything to do with Project 2025.
Trump didn't mess around when his turn came around. He pointed out that Joe Biden never removed the tariffs Trump imposed on China and pointed out that illegal immigrants are taking African American jobs away because of Vice President Harris. He also pointed out that he handed over an economy that was better than before the pandemic which is unheard of. He also slammed her on taking ideas from him and noted that he was going to send Kamala Harris a MAGA hat. He concluded that people are "dying" with the Biden-Harris economy.
Harris never addressed whether or not people were better off than they were four years ago, which was the exact question made to her. She never addressed the gas and food prices skyrocketing. She never addressed the economic recession of 2022. She never addressed any of it. Donald Trump addressed all of it.
Harris Stood For Abortion
Former President Trump has a different position on abortion than the entire Republican party, so he had to be very careful with this one. While he made it clear that he does not support the right of a late-term abortion, that he wants states to vote on abortion themselves, and that he supports the exceptions for abortion, Trump danced around the direct question of whether or not he would sign a national abortion ban if elected president. His uncertainty did not go unnoticed by the American people I'm sure.
Kamala Harris went on the offense, pleading for Americans to listen to the stories of American women who have abortions. She takes the moral route that Donald Trump is not in charge of making that decision. She fully supports the protections that were laid out in Roe v Wade and will fight for them whole-heartedly if elected president. Her base supports what she said. Donald Trump's base may be a little skeptical here.
Trump Won Again on Border Security
Kamala Harris didn't even address much specifics when it came to immigration. She claimed that she advocated for a massive border security bill that Donald Trump encouraged Republicans to stop. Other than that and pointing out Trump's current status as a convicted felon, it was just a bunch of rabbit holes that were just flat out wrong. She claimed that people leave early at Donald Trump's rallies because they're bored. She claimed that Donald Trump doesn't have American interests at heart. She also claimed that Donald Trump wanted to terminate the United States Constitution. "Let's talk about extreme" she said. Let's talk about extreme indeed. Trump's response: "I probably took a bullet in the head because of what they said."
Trump talked about the border disaster more than he talked about anything else tonight. He addressed the ongoing situation in Springfield, Ohio saying that the Haitian immigrants are "eating the pets of the people that live there." Debate moderator David Muir chimed in and stated that the mayor of Springfield, Ohio said the reports Donald Trump was alluding to were not based on credible happenings. That would have been the perfect time for Donald Trump to chime in and call "FAKE NEWS" on David Muir. He said them Biden and Harris "destroyed the fabric of our country" and that the reason why Venezuela's crime is low all of a sudden is because they sent all their criminals to the United States.
Trump really hit the nail on the head with this one and Kamala Harris just made herself sound really stupid. I think we all know who won this subject.
Harris Changed Her Policy Proposals on Fracking from 2020
Former President Trump pointed out that Kamala Harris supported a fracking ban in the United States for 12 years before changing her mind in 2020. His prediction is that "fracking in Pennsylvania will end on day one." He also created some rabbit holes of his own that Kamala Harris never addressed at all.
Harris maintained her position that "my values have not changed." She pointed out that she was the tiebreaker vote on a bill that created licenses for fracking. She made her point clear that she's been consistent on fracking since 2020. Trump's attacks were fierce, but that was a sharp response for Harris.
International Policy was a Stalemate
Donald Trump, whether talking about Ukraine, Afghanistan, or Israel and Palestine, asserted that all of these mishaps from the Biden Administration would have never happened if he were president. He also claimed that Harris hates Israel and pointed out that she would not meet with Benjamin Netanyahu when he visited the United States. He also noted that Iran has gotten $300 billion under this administration and has been spreading it around to terrorists across the Middle East.
He also went on a spiel about Joe Biden saying things like "Where is the president?", "Why would he [Putin] respect Biden?", and "We have a president that doesn't know he's alive."
Kamala Harris asserted that Palestinian lives are important and that Israel should defend itself against Hamas while seeking a ceasefire and security for both Israel and Palestine. She also stated that Trump is "weak and wrong on national security." She also pointed out that Trump is running against her, not Joe Biden. She finished up by calling Donald Trump a liar and asserted that we should "look out for our friends."
Good luck deciding the winner of this one. It will probably go by party lines.
Criticisms of Trump's Character Favored Harris
When it came to President Trump's temperament when David Muir asserted that Trump incited a riot on January 6th, 2021 and that Trump had falsely declared victory in 2020. Donald Trump stood by his position that the 2020 election was rigged and that Nancy Pelosi was responsible for getting the National Guard to protect the capitol, which is what he suggested. Kamala Harris rebuked the claims of President Trump saying that he was fired by 81 million people and "let's not go back."
When Donald Trump was criticized over past comments about Kamala Harris' race, he said that he doesn't care what race she is. Harris slammed Trump for using race to divide the American party and she asserted that "clearly I am not Joe Biden, and I am certainly not Donald Trump."
Conclusion: It was a Tie
No campaign ever wants a debate like this to end in a tie, but that's exactly what we got. The battleground voters are confused, the parties are split right down the middle, and we got nowhere with this debate...AND IT WAS AWESOME!!! Neither side gave an inch and both candidates went at each other. It was no holds barred in Philadephia last night and we live to see it in America. Great stuff from both candidates. The best presidential debate I have ever seen!
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