In a televised debate held in Philadelphia on Tuesday (September 10th), the two American presidential candidates offered little clarity on their respective policy plans. This debate marked the first debate for Harris since 2020 and the first debate for Trump since he pushed Biden out of the presidential race back in June.
In the opening segment on economic issues, Vice President Harris and former President Trump did not provide detailed information on their policy positions and even made some misrepresentations about each other’s stances. They later engaged in heated debates on topics such as the January 6th incident, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the crisis at the southern border.
While Harris reiterated some of her recent policies and presented her vision for an “opportunity economy,” outlining her agenda was not her top priority. Instead, Harris spent a significant amount of time introducing herself to the public, discussing her experiences as a prosecutor, legislator, and vice president, and describing her middle-class upbringing.
Trump also spoke less about his policy agenda and instead sought to define Harris as an extreme left liberal during the debate, linking her to President Biden and his administration’s crises, including inflation, border issues, and the manner in which the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan. In at least two confrontations and in his concluding remarks, the former president questioned Harris on why she did not accomplish what she’s proposing now during her nearly four years as vice president.
Prior to the debate, questions lingered about the candidates’ positions on abortion. Trump evaded answering whether he would veto a nationwide abortion ban. Similarly, when Trump asked Harris if she would allow abortions in the seventh, eighth, and ninth months of pregnancy, she did not respond.
Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, told the Epoch Times that there was very little substantive policy discussion, which is unfortunate for voters.
Despite the lack of specific policy details in the debate, there were still some exciting moments for the audience and provided voters with a deeper understanding of the candidates.
Throughout the debate, Trump consistently looked at the host and the camera instead of facing Harris directly. On the other hand, Harris often faced Trump, leaving her profile to the cameras. When they first took the stage, Trump slowly walked towards his podium instead of heading to the center of the stage. As they shook hands, Harris stood at the side of Trump’s podium. Harris even introduced herself to Trump, stating her name. Trump responded, saying, “Nice to meet you, have a good time.”
Harris’s campaign spokesperson, Ian Sams, explained that this was to remind Trump not to mispronounce her name.
“I think she wanted to show her assertiveness and introduce herself, including how to correctly pronounce her name,” Sams said.
Unlike her experience debating Vice President Pence in 2020, this time Harris faced two counterattacks as Trump did not allow her to interrupt his remarks.
Trump retorted, “Wait a minute, if you don’t mind, I’m speaking. Does that sound familiar?” Apparently referencing when Harris said something similar to Pence.
Harris then urged viewers watching the debate to attend one of Trump’s rallies to experience what she referred to as “some very interesting things.”
She said, “In his rallies, he talks about some fictional characters, like Hannibal Lecter (a character from American novels), and claims windmills cause cancer. You’ll also notice people leaving his rallies early out of tiredness and boredom.”
In response, Trump appeared more energetic than in previous debates, beginning a speech with a similar style to his rallies.
Trump said, “We have the biggest, most incredible gatherings in political history. That is because people want to take back their country. Our country is headed for a downfall.”
Aaron Dusso, a political science professor at Indiana University, called this the most impressive moment of the night. Dusso told the Epoch Times, “It was clear (Harris) baited him to talk about (the rally sizes), and he took the bait.”
Harris criticized Trump’s behavior after the 2020 election, saying, “We are not going back, it’s time to turn the page.”
The former president attempted to define Harris using Biden’s policies, politically equating her with Biden. Trump told voters, “Remember this, she is Biden.”
Trump asserted that Harris must be held accountable for the recent three years of inflation, stating, “She cannot escape this issue.”
He accused illegal immigrants of committing violent crimes, asserting, “These are the people that she and Biden let into our country, and they’re destroying our country.”
In his closing remarks, Trump tied Harris to policy issues of the Biden administration, perhaps his most compelling moment in the debate.
Trump questioned, “She starts off saying she’s going to do this, she’s going to do that, she’s going to do all these wonderful things. Why hasn’t she done them?”
“She’s been there (as vice president) for three and a half years. They’ve had three and a half years to solve the border problem, they’ve had three and a half years to create jobs and all the things we’re talking about. Why hasn’t she done it?” Trump said.
Each time Trump associated Harris with the unpopular policies of the Biden administration, she pushed back and distanced herself from Biden.
Harris responded, “Your opponent is not Joe Biden, your opponent is me.”
She said, “I offer new leadership for our country, a leadership that believes anything is possible, a leadership full of optimism about what we can accomplish.” She then detailed her plans: providing $50,000 in tax breaks for startups; $6,000 in tax incentives for families with newborns; and a $25,000 down payment subsidy for first-time homebuyers.
Given Biden’s declining approval ratings and his underwhelming performance compared to Trump in the polls leading up to his withdrawal from the campaign, distancing herself from Biden seems to be Harris’s campaign strategy.
California Governor Gavin Newsom stated before the debate to reporters, “She has to make clear to the American people tonight that she is not Joe Biden.”
After Biden’s withdrawal from the race, Harris faced the reality of a scaled-down campaign, releasing some policy proposals on her website the day before the debate. So far, she has only done one TV interview, where she spent most of the time defending her evolving positions.
Even in this debate, she failed to articulate her policy positions clearly.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate, told the Epoch Times, “I think the media’s coverage of Harris’ campaign activities post-announcement mainly veered away from policy issues deliberately.”
Harris shifted focus to introducing herself to the American public and introduced herself to Trump for the first time instead of her policy agenda.
Harris recounted her middle-class upbringing experience and its influence on her policy platform. She described her agenda as a plan to uplift the middle class and the working class.
“As a prosecutor, I never asked victims or witnesses, ‘Are you a Republican or a Democrat?’ The only thing I asked them was, ‘Are you okay?’ What we need now is a president like that,” Harris said.
She juxtaposed herself with Trump, reminding voters of Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of felony earlier this year in Manhattan.
In response, Trump believed that all charges against him were a result of weaponizing the Justice Department by Biden.
The discussion on foreign policy during the debate also seemed somewhat lacking. Harris criticized Trump for befriending authoritarian dictators like Russian President Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Trump responded that if he were in office, Russia and Hamas would not have invaded Ukraine and Israel, respectively.
When asked if he hoped for Ukraine to defeat Russia, Trump said he hoped for an end to the meaningless slaughter. He attributed the responsibility of the war to Biden, stating that his handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan (which Harris had defended) made international aggressors more brazen. Both candidates reiterated their support for Israel.
Although the Tuesday debate was believed to be the potential final one, both candidates’ camps expressed the possibility of holding a second debate after the conclusion of the debate.
Jen O’Malley Dillon, the chairwoman of Harris’s campaign team, said, “Under the bright lights, Americans saw the choice they will face in the voting booth this fall: either move forward with Harris or regress with Trump. That is what they saw tonight, and what they will see in the second debate in October.”
Ramaswamy, the former Republican presidential candidate, expressed, “I think having multiple debates is a good thing and beneficial to the people of this country.”
After the debate, Trump told reporters in the press room that he would consider participating in a second debate.