On Tuesday, September 10th, 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump engaged in their first ever presidential debate in Philadelphia, less than two months before election day. Over the course of the 1 hour and 45 minute debate, hosted by ABC news, both candidates touched on a few major topics, including the economy, abortion, immigration, and foreign policy. The rules were the same as they were earlier during the debate between Trump and Biden, with moderators muting mics while the other opponent was speaking, and no live audience in attendance. The debate began with a handshake, initiated by Harris, but quickly elevated and descended into heated discussion as Trump and Harris bashed each other’s policies and proposals. The debate highlighted the major differences between the two candidates. One of the topics covered was immigration.
As Trump explained his discomfort and worry about rising migrant crime, Harris responded in a way to highlight the irony in Trump’s claim. Harris responds, “Well, I think this is so rich coming from someone who has been prosecuted for national security crimes, economic crimes, election interference, has been found liable for sexual assault and his next big court appearance is in November at his own criminal sentencing.”
Trump responded to these comments by repeatedly saying America is a “failing nation” and “on the brink of World War III” because of the Biden-Harris Administration. He also called Harris a Marxist, despite her support of capitalism. Trump also made a baseless claim that immigrants are eating citizens’ pets in Springfield, but the moderator quickly debunked this claim. A divide between Trump and Harris was apparent when the topic of abortion was brought up. Harris slammed Trump over his role in the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree with the government, and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” Harris said, clearly making it certain that she will not support an abortion ban. However, Trump made it clear that he would not sign an abortion ban.
He said, “I’m not signing a ban, and there’s no reason to sign a ban because we’ve gotten what everybody wanted.” The topic of rising costs and inflation was also discussed, and Harris and Trump clashed over their economic plans for the country.
When asked if the economy is better now than it was 4 years ago, before the Biden-Harris administration, Harris did not directly answer. Instead, she highlighted the fact that when she was growing up, she was “raised as a middle class kid” and is planning on aiding destitute families who need financial support.
Finally, Trump explained how he is planning on enacting tariffs on imported goods from China, and how countries will ”finally pay us back.”
Tiktok, Instagram, and X users are raving about Tuesday night’s debate, most saying how Harris won by a long shot.
American Pop singer Taylor Swift endorsed Harris in an Instagram post she made almost immediately after the debate. “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election,” Swift says, “because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.”
She then urges people to research both candidates before making a decision, and to register to vote. Shortly after she inserted a link in her Instagram story to get registered to vote. Similarly, many videos, articles, and posts have been uploaded to a multitude of media outlets expressing the idea that Harris won the debate, and Trump made a fool out of himself. However, some supporters of Trump posted about how Harris was full of lies, and was not truthful throughout her debate. Some people are also posting about how they would like to see Harris speak about issues outside of the debate stage, without her preparing answers to questions.
I was able to speak to several people at Enochs High School about their opinion on Tuesday’s debate. There was a common set of answers among the three students interviewed.
Elora Tornberg ‘25 explained how the debate was, “a bit messy, not as bad as the dumpster fire that was Trump and Biden, but both sides had some interesting points.” I asked her if there were any key points that stood out to her, which she replied with, “Yeah! Apparently they’re eating dogs and cats in Springfield. And also, I gotta be careful…if I make my mom too upset she might have an after birth abortion.”
Similarly, Kai Herbst ’25 feels that the debate was “pretty interesting,” and that “one of the candidates was really responding to the prompts, while the other one wasn’t, and it really shows.” When asked if he would like to learn more about candidates, Herbst responds “Yes, I would probably try and also find more articles about not only what they said, but on writing what their policy is and what they want to have happen when they become president.”
Benita Rocha ’25 has a similar take, liking Trump and Kamala better than Trump and Biden. “I thought it was really interesting that, I know that it’s not just Trump and Kamala who snuck a little bit of lies in there too,” Rocha explains, “but that they kept just lying about each other. I thought that was really weird. Like, why would you do that? You’re just making yourself look dumb.” Rocha also explains that she would like to learn more about Harris. “I would definitely like to learn more, obviously we know what Trump’s done before. I would like to look up what Kamala plans on doing, especially with business owners and how it’s going to affect me, things like that.”
All of the three students agreed that Harris won the debate.
I was also delighted to sit down with Mr. Richards, a Social Studies teacher at Enochs High School, and ask a couple of questions regarding his thoughts about the debate.
When asked how he feels about it, he responded,
“I’ve had this feeling for about at least the last 4 years that in a country of 300 and something million people, it’s crazy to me that these are our two candidates and this is the tone. This, and all the silliness that goes with it, surprises me that that’s what we’re doing in one of the most powerful established nations in the world.”
Mr. Richards also explained some of his thoughts on the actual election. “I this election is going to come down to the economy, it’s going to come down to immigration, reproductive rights, abortion, that kind of thing, and who’s going to exhaust you the least,” says Richards.
“The anger politics has been exhausting the last 8 years…and I think Kamala Harris and the democrats have really tried to push this in the last couple of weeks of being, like, the joy party and not the anger party, so I think that will work for them.” He also expresses his views on some topics discussed during the debate.
“On the issue of abortion rights and reproductive rights, I think there’s a lot of back and forth, and what do we do now that it’s all been pushed back to the states, so I think that’s going to push a lot of people more towards the democratic side rather than the republic, just by looking at previous elections,” he explains, “and when it comes to immigration, Kamala Harris has a lot she has to defend, so it really comes down to, will she be able to weather that storm?” Lastly, Mr. Richards also believes that Harris won the debate.
I think it’s safe to say that Tuesday night’s debate was an interesting one, nonetheless, with many things said that left viewers surprised, touched, and confused. Regardless of the mixed opinions floating around the media, it all comes down to this: Will the results of this election affect America? Do these candidates have what it takes to become the next president of the United States?
