Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris faced off on Tuesday night in their first, and likely only, debate before the Nov. 5 election. The two candidates came into the debate roughly tied in the polls and with just a few weeks to try to persuade a small minority of undecided voters how to vote.
After weeks of wrangling over the format and rules of the debate, the debate was broadcast live on ABC from the key battleground state of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but with no audience and each candidate’s microphone muted while his or her opponent was speaking.
This was Trump’s second presidential debate this year, having previously faced Joe Biden in June. Biden’s overwhelming performance caused chaos within the Democratic Party, ultimately leading to Biden dropping out and Harris taking the lead in the race for the nomination, but Trump has taken credit for the outcome and has expressed dissatisfaction at rallies.
With 55 days to go until the votes are counted, Harris emphasized that she has a plan, clearly pushing back against criticism that she hasn’t given voters enough detail about her policies and priorities. With rhetoric focused on planning for the future, building the middle class and rebuilding her record on everything from immigration to climate, Harris could show voters how she wants to lead.
Meanwhile, analysts focused on Trump’s demeanor and clarity, as he repeated the same rhetoric he often uses at rallies — including widely controversial claims on abortion, crime and his belief that he won the 2020 election — but said little about how he would tackle the major issues facing Americans.
As well as differing policy positions, the candidates also had different visions for the country, with Trump promising his base a return to past glory and Harris pleading for hope for a brighter future.
Highlights include:
1. Trump has repeatedly spread misinformation
During the debate, Trump used misinformation to support his claims, repeating rhetoric that has already been debunked, from the results of the 2020 election to his involvement with Project 2025, a conservative-backed plan to overhaul the US government. Trump distanced himself from the January 6 attack on the Capitol, saying he was there only to speak, and blamed then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for not beefing up security. He also falsely said crime rates had risen in the US when they had actually fallen.
2. …and frequently fact-checked by moderators
ABC’s hosts, David Muir and Lindsay Davis, were widely praised for their excellent performances: They effectively steered the debate back to the original questions on key topics such as the economy, immigration, abortion rights and the peaceful transfer of power, making key fact-checking statements when necessary.
Muir and Davis are veteran journalists who have spent a combined decades advising Americans on the course of the presidential election. Their performance was in stark contrast to the June CNN debate, where the moderator frequently missed opportunities to fact-check Trump and Joe Biden.
3. Harris defended the Democratic Party’s position on reproductive rights.
When asked about his changing views on access to abortion care, Trump made some surprising (and easily refuted) claims that Democrats support executing babies after they are born. He also took credit for the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, a decision unpopular with the majority of Americans, after Trump appointed three justices to form a 6-3 conservative majority. But Trump made it clear that he believes in exceptions for rape, incest, and threats to the mother’s life.
Harris called her position an “insult to American women” and countered with a promise to bring the issue back to the states, saying, “The American people voted for freedom.” She highlighted the harsh realities faced by women in states that ban abortion and mothers-to-be who struggle to access IVF care.
4. Both candidates touted their efforts to improve the economy.
Harris was quick to tout her “opportunity economy” plan, which includes tax cuts for small business founders, relief for new parents and first-time homebuyers and a crackdown on corporate price fixing. “I’m the only person on this stage committed to lifting the middle class,” she said, noting that she grew up in a middle-class family.
Meanwhile, Trump insisted he has overseen the “best economy” despite the pandemic-induced downturn, and accused his opponent of putting more strain on American families. “People can’t go out and buy their cereal and their bacon and things like that,” he said.
Inflation has spiked under the Biden-Harris administration, but has fallen just as quickly since. As of August, the U.S. inflation rate settled at 2.9%.
Trump also emphasized his stance on tariffs, saying he plans to make them a priority if he returns to the White House.
5. Trump has spewed vulgar, sometimes racist, claims about immigrants.
Throughout the debate, Trump shifted his focus to immigration, spewing lewd claims about criminals being welcomed in the country and about immigrants eating pets in some towns.
As the debate moderators tried to counter Trump’s claims, questioning their legitimacy and how he would follow through on his campaign promise to deport millions, Ms Harris went on the offensive, highlighting her record as “the only person to have stood on stage and prosecuted a transnational organization” and accusing her opponent of calling on Republicans to oppose the border strengthening bill.
“He preferred to go into the election with problems rather than solving them,” she said.
6. The candidates sparred over how to handle Ukraine and the war.
Harris said that if Trump were in office, Russian President Vladimir Putin would have taken Kiev, adding that Putin “would eat you for lunch.”
“When Donald Trump says this war will be over in 24 hours, I think it’s because he’s just going to give up,” Harris said.
Trump did not offer a clear answer when asked by Muir how he would end the war, specifically whether he wanted Ukraine to win.
“I want the war to stop. I want to save the lives that are being lost in vain. Millions of people are being killed,” he said. Asked again if it was in America’s best interest for Ukraine to win, he doubled down: “I think it’s in America’s best interest to end this war, just end it, negotiate an agreement, because we have to stop all these lives being destroyed.”
7. Harris provoked Trump by hitting him where it hurt.
When the moderators pressed Harris to respond to criticism she and Biden have received over border policy, Biden deftly took issue with Harris’ comments by mocking her performance at the rally, an issue she is likely most likely to debate.
She urged voters to watch the speech for themselves, saying she could see attendees leaving exhausted and bored, and that the speech was an outlet for Trump to air his grievances, not a plan to put the American people first.
The attack worked. An angry and upset Trump jumped at the chance to defend attendees of his rallies, claiming that Harris was paying them, then pivoted to a flurry of pointless insults. He accused Harris of trying to turn the U.S. into “Venezuela on steroids” and called it a “failed state,” before revisiting the false claim that immigrants eat people’s pets.
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