UPDATE: A coin toss gave Donald Trump the final say in the debate, questioning why Kamala Harris hasn’t done many of the things she proposes.
“The worst president our country has ever had, the worst vice president,” he said angrily, predicting his rival would start World War III.
“We cannot sacrifice our country for a bad vision,” Trump said.
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Harris continued to deliver his message of future and past.
Previously: Donald Trump was asked about his comments last month that Kamala Harris “accidentally happens to be black.”
Trump has used Harris’ race on the presidential campaign trail, suggesting she identifies as black for political purposes. Harris is biracial but has long identified as black.
“I read that she’s not black, then I read that she is black,” Trump said.
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Harris didn’t take the bait, saying tonight that Trump was using race to “divide the American people” and pointed to his record on race, including calling for the execution of the Central Park Five, black men who were wrongfully accused of assaulting and raping a woman while she was jogging in Central Park in 1989.
Previously: Kamala Harris argued that “world leaders are laughing at Donald Trump,” noting that many of the Trump administration’s national security officials have criticized his leadership.
But Trump pointed to one world leader, Hungarian dictator Viktor Orban, as a reference point.
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“It’s completely public knowledge that these dictators and autocrats are rooting for you to become president again because it’s obvious they can manipulate you with flattery and favors,” she said.
Trump stressed that the Biden administration had been “weak and ineffective” and claimed that there would have been no war in Ukraine or Israel under his administration.
Previously: Donald Trump still claims he won the 2020 presidential election, despite telling a podcast host last week that he “narrowly lost.”
ABC News’ David Muir asked Trump about the remarks, comparing them to his longstanding, unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen, but said Trump must have been being sarcastic. Muir, however, said the irony of the remarks was lost on him.
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Trump then went on a lengthy rant about the 2020 election, claiming there was fraud in battleground states, before coming to his senses and saying, “That’s old news.”
Harris then said, “Donald Trump has been fired by 81 million Americans … and clearly he’s having a hard time accepting that.”
Last time: Kamala Harris largely stuck to her previous explanation for her change of position on issues like fracking, the border and immigration.
As she said in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash last month, Harris said that while her policies have changed, her values have not.
Previously: ABC News’ David Muir does a fact-checking intervention centered on the wild claims that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating cats and dogs and that pets are disappearing.
The accusation is unfounded, and even President Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, has admitted it is unconfirmed.
Muir noted that ABC News reached out to Springfield’s mayor, who said there was “no evidence of that.”
“The dog was eaten,” Trump claimed.
Co-host Lindsey Davis also fact-checked Trump, noting that “there is no state in this country where it’s legal to kill a newborn baby.” Trump has made that claim repeatedly in interviews and rallies, and the ABC team seemed prepared to take on some of his false statements tonight.
Previously: Kamala Harris upset Donald Trump by saying his supporters were leaving rallies early because they were “bored.”
She said people should attend his rallies and know that “the one thing you’re not going to hear him talk about is your needs, your dreams, your aspirations.”
He denied it, responding with the false claim that no one comes to her rallies, and when people do gather, “she busses them in and pays them to be there,” he said.
Previously: When answering a question, Kamala Harris would look directly at the camera and address the audience, rather than just speaking to the host.
“He ended up selling American-made semiconductors to China to upgrade and modernize their military. He betrayed us,” Harris said of Trump’s China policy.
She slammed President Trump for thanking President Xi Jinping for his “achievements during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“We know that President Xi Jinping is to blame for not being transparent about the origins of the coronavirus,” she said.
President Trump argues that the tariffs will make China pay more for goods.
Last time: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump began the debate with Harris shaking hands.
The Vice President approached President Trump, extended his hand, and the two exchanged polite greetings.
“Let’s have a good discussion,” she said.
“It’s good to meet you. Have fun,” he replied.
The opening question was about the economy, with Harris sharply criticizing Trump for his proposal for sweeping tariffs, saying they amounted to a flat sales tax on Americans because the costs would be passed on to consumers. Trump denied that it was a tax and moved on to criticize the Biden administration over the border.
“They’re destroying our country,” he said of illegal immigrants.
The stakes are high: Harris and Trump are neck and neck in the polls, and this may be their only showdown of the entire election.
Remarkably, Harris and Trump have never met in person – the most obvious opportunity for the two to meet would have been during the transition on January 20, 2021, but the meeting never took place after Trump refused to attend.
ABC News’ David Muir and Lindsay Davis will moderate the debate, marking their first time hosting such a general election event.