Harris
By Amah
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Read the key takeaways from the first — and possibly only — debate between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump The proceedings began with an awkward handshake but otherwise went ahead relatively smoothly, in part thanks to the candidates’ muted microphones, which reduced interruptions.
Harris entered the debate with more to gain, and she arguably capitalised on the moment.
Her composed performance saw her land several blows, particularly when it came to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, abortion rights and race.
Trump repeatedly sought to turn the conversation to the economy and immigration, repeating false stories about migrants stealing and eating people’s pets.
The former president also said he would not sign a federal abortion ban and refused to admit he lost the 2020 vote.
The Harris campaign swiftly called for a second debate. It also collected an official endorsement from pop star Taylor Swift, who commands a whopping 283 million followers on Instagram.
US pro-Palestine groups push back on Harris over Gaza
Harris has restated her position on Israel and Palestine at the debate, saying she and Biden are working tirelessly towards a ceasefire.
But at least one pro-Palestine advocacy group, the Institute for Middle Eastern Understanding Policy Project, dismissed her comment as lip service.
“Vice President Harris, you can’t talk about achieving a ceasefire — much less Palestinian freedom — while the US is providing billions of dollars in weapons to support Israel’s genocide,” the group wrote.
The group also suggested Harris applied a different standard to Ukraine than to Palestine.
“VP Harris is right to condemn Russia for taking Ukrainian territory by force — a violation of international law. Where is her condemnation of Israel taking Palestinian territory by force?”
Another political action group, representing the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, also called out Harris’s comments as hollow.
“Harris cannot turn the page and be a new generation of leadership if she continues to hold onto the policies that deny Palestinian rights and arms Israel’s genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people,” they wrote.
Fox News commentators: ‘Tonight, she won’
Some commentators on Fox News, a conservative TV network, said in post-debate comments that Kamala Harris won her debate against Donald Trump.
She was “well prepared, had answers and knew where she was going,” said Fox political analyst Brit Hume. He compared Harris’s debate performance with an interview she and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz gave on CNN last month, calling her “a different person” tonight.
Hume also indicated that Harris managed to derail Trump at various points throughout the debate.
“She baited him – successfully,” Hume said. “She came out ahead in this, in my opinion. No doubt.”
Hume added that Trump had a “bad night”.
“Tonight, she won,” echoed Harold Ford Jr, another commentator.
Other network talent, however, criticised the debate’s moderators, accusing them of only fact-checking Trump and calling the debate “frustrating”.
Trump is a frequent guest on Fox News shows, but he has had an uneasy relationship with the broadcaster, faulting the broadcaster for calling states like Arizona for the Democrats during the 2020 presidential race.
The results of the 2020 election – which Trump lost – caused internal strife at Fox News, with some journalists pushing for accurate reporting and others repeating Trump’s false claims that he won.
Harris and Trump to attend 9/11 memorials on Wednesday
The presidential candidates are ready to hit the campaign trail again.
As their first – and possibly last – in-person face-off comes to a close, Trump and Harris are both scheduled to attend memorial events on Wednesday for the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Vice President Harris will be in New York City with President Biden on Tuesday, where they are scheduled to attend a ceremony at the site of the World Trade Center.
Afterwards, they will head to similar events in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia — the other two sites targeted in 2001. Trump is also expected to be in New York City at a fire station and in Shanksville.
After that, it’s back on the road for rallies and campaign stops, with Harris travelling to North Carolina and Trump to Arizona on Thursday.
The Harris campaign branded her upcoming travels through battleground states as the “New Way Forward” tour. Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz and Harris’s husband Doug Emhoff are also hitting the road as part of the tour — to Michigan, Nevada and Arizona, respectively.
The Trump campaign has referred to his ongoing campaign stops as the “Agenda 47 Policy Tour”.
Harris campaign wants a second debate
Harris’s campaign has almost immediately called for a second debate against Trump.
“Under the bright lights, the American people got to see the choice they will face this fall at the ballot box: between moving forward with Kamala Harris, or going backwards with Trump,” Jen O’Malley Dillon, the head of Harris’s campaign, said in a statement.
“That’s what they saw tonight and what they should see at a second debate in October. Vice President Harris is ready for a second debate. Is Donald Trump?”
Speaking to reporters after the debate, Trump said Harris only wanted a rematch because she “lost” the first debate.
By contrast, some political analysts argued that Harris’s strong showing tonight may make her want to rethink giving Trump a chance to strike back. Aljazeera
