Current Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump faced off at a Sept. 10 debate hosted by ABC News. The debate was the candidates' first against each other, following President Joe Biden’s election dropout in July.
The candidates covered multiple questions and topics led by ABC journalists, David Muir and Linsey Davis. Both Trump and Harris brought up the U.S. economy, reproductive rights and border security and immigration numerous times throughout the debate.
“Good evening, we are looking forward to a spirited and thoughtful debate,” Muir said as he opened the debate.
Trump and Harris debated for 90 minutes without an audience and on a clock, with two minutes designated for initial answers and one-minute responses to the other. Both presidential candidates could not have prewritten notes, and their microphones remained off while the other spoke.
Muir and Davis began the debate by asking Harris if she thought Americans were better off with the current state of the economy compared to four years ago.
Noting her upbringing in a middle-class family, Harris’ response focused on an “opportunity economy,” with her emphasizing her goals of tax cuts for families and small businesses.
“... And I intend on extending a tax cut for those families of $6,000, which is the largest child tax credit that we have given in a long time. ... My passion, one of them, is small businesses,” Harris said. “... My plan is to give a $50,000 tax deduction to start-up small businesses, knowing they are part of the backbone of America's economy.”
Harris also stated that Trump wanted to increase taxes on everyday goods, and repeatedly said that Trump didn’t have a plan.
“Economists have said that Trump's sales tax would actually result for middle-class families in about $4,000 more a year because of his policies and his ideas about what should be the backs of middle-class people paying for tax cuts for billionaires,” she said.
Trump refuted Harris’ claims of him requiring a sales tax, with him instead saying he plans to use tariffs on other countries. Trump said that under him, countries would finally pay the U.S. back after 75 years. Under his presidency, Trump claimed to have taken billions of dollars from China.
Trump has repeatedly stated his plans for imposing a tax on imported goods to the U.S., with him stating he would require a 60% tariff on imported Chinese goods and up to 20% on anything else imported to the U.S.
Some economists argue in favor of increased tariffs, as it could provide affordable food prices and create more factory jobs. However, others argue that increased tariffs can have the opposite effect and further raise prices on goods.
According to Trump, the reason behind the U.S. currently having a bad economy is because of inflation. Trump stated that the current rise in goods was 50% to 80% higher than the rates a few years ago. Trump said this wasn’t only a disaster for the middle class but for all wealth classes.
According to Trump, problems with the current U.S. economic state are due to undocumented immigrants taking jobs from minorities and unions.
“On top of that, we have millions of people pouring into our country from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums,” Trump said. “And they're coming in, and they're taking jobs that are occupied right now by African Americans and Hispanics and also unions.”
Although immigration increased to a record-breaking 47.8 million in 2023, immigrants account for only 14.3% of the U.S. population. In 2022, 17% of the U.S. workforce were immigrants, with 22.2 million being lawful immigrants and 8.3 million being unauthorized.
Also in 2022, immigrant households were responsible for $579.1 billion in taxes paid by themselves, with $35 billion of the taxes being paid by undocumented households.
Trump began the debate’s discussion of abortion by expressing his disapproval of late-term abortions. Trump stated that the previous governor of West Virginia condoned abortions after birth and that Tim Waltz, Harris’ vice presidential pick, supported abortions in the ninth month.
The previous governor referred to was Ralph Northam, who governed Virginia, not West Virginia. The referral to post-birth abortions comes from an appearance Northam had on a talk show where he stated the decision to resuscitate newborns with severe deformities and a low chance of survival would be between the family and physicians.
Trump’s objection to this line of thought informed his support of the six-week abortion ban. Trump also said he wanted to return state rights to legalize abortion, with him praising the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn federal law Roe v. Wade in 2022. However, Trump stated he believed in exceptions for those seeking out abortions.
“And through the genius and heart and strength of six Supreme Court justices, we were able to do that. Now, I believe in the exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. I believe strongly in it,” Trump said.
Before Harris could respond to Trump’s statements, Davis spoke.
“There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it's born,” Davis said.
"When Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protections of Roe v. Wade, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law. But understand, if Donald Trump were to be re-elected, he will sign a national abortion ban. ... I think the American people believe that certain freedoms, in particular the freedom to make decisions about one's own body, should not be made by the government,” Harris said.
Trump responded to Harris by saying he would not sign a ban on abortion into law. However, the speakers pressed Trump by asking why his vice presidential pick JD Vance vouched that Trump would veto the law as president if it made it to his desk and if Trump really would do a veto.
“Well, I didn't discuss it with JD. In all fairness, JD — and I don't mind if he has a certain view — but I think he was speaking for me, but I really didn't. Look, we don't have to discuss it because she'd never be able to get it just like she couldn't get student loans,” Trump answered.
Muir began with Harris on the topic of border security. According to Muir, illegal border crossings reached a record high under the Biden administration. In June, Biden imposed tougher restrictions on new asylum seekers, and the rates dropped significantly. Muir asked Harris why the administration waited until six months before the election to act.
Harris responded by bringing up a bipartisan bill that would add 1,500 security agents to the border, but the bill was shot down because of Trump.
“Donald Trump got on the phone, called up some folks in Congress, and said kill the bill. And you know why? Because he preferred to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem,” Harris said.
Harris brought up the lack of attendees at Trump’s rallies after her statement, to which Trump responded. However, an explanation of the bill’s killing wasn’t provided by Trump.
Trump instead brought up towns like Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, with him describing the status of immigration in Springfield.
“A lot of towns don't want to talk about it because they're so embarrassed by it. In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The people that came in — they're eating the cats. They're eating — they're eating the pets of the people that live there,” Trump said.
Muir informed Trump that ABC reached out to Springfield’s city manager, who said no credible reports or specific claims about pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals in the immigrant community had been made.
Rumors of pets being eaten by Haitian immigrants began to circulate heavily on social media around early September. Erika Lee, one of those posting the claims on social media, retracted her statements after Springfield became a political topic.
A post on Lee's Facebook account, which she later removed, claimed Lee's neighbor told her their cat was missing and that she feared her cat was a victim of their Haitian neighbors.
Once Lee's and other residents' claims were disputed, Lee's neighbor admitted she heard about the attack from a third party. Lee explained she regretted her post.
When asked about immigration, Trump quickly blamed the Biden administration: “It is much higher because of them. ... They allowed common street criminals. They allowed people to come in, drug dealers, to come into our country, and they're now in the United States ... They've destroyed the fabric of our country.”
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
