Trump-Harris Debate: Here Are the Biggest Moments
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump faced off in their first—and possibly only—debate on Tuesday night, tackling issues like abortion, immigration, the economy, and foreign policy.
The debate, hosted by ABC News in Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center, was also the first time the two candidates have ever met in person, after Trump broke tradition in 2021 by skipping the inauguration of his successor. The matchup began with a handshake, but quickly descended into a series of sharp exchanges as Trump and Harris traded barbs.
Seeking to introduce herself to voters, Harris used the debate to draw a contrast with Trump, portraying herself as a “middle-class kid” while casting Trump as self-absorbed and not possessing the “temperament” to be President. Trump, meanwhile, repeated lies about widespread fraud in the 2020 election and furthered a baseless conspiracy theory about immigrants eating pets, seeking to paint a picture of a nation in chaos.
The previous debate between President Joe Biden and Trump was marred by awkward fumbling, and eventually led to Biden dropping out of the race after facing criticism from members of his own party and prominent Democratic donors over his poor performance. Harris, as the new Democratic candidate, tried to turn the table on Trump this debate by portraying him as the fumbling one and attempting to get under his skin.
“Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people,” Harris said. “Clearly he is having a very difficult time processing that.”
Read More: How Harris Won the Debate: Trump Walked Into Traps She Laid For Him
While the Harris campaign has made efforts to re-energize voters, the race for the country’s highest elected office is still tight. A new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released ahead of the debate on Tuesday found that Harris edges out Trump by just one point among registered voters nationally.
Tuesday night’s debate highlighted the stark differences between the two candidates: Harris, a former prosecutor known for her methodical debate skills, versus Trump, who has been convicted on 34 felony counts in a New York hush money case, something Harris brought up when Trump complained of “migrant crime” in American cities. “Well, I think this is so rich,” Harris responded. “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 entered the stage with a well-established playbook: attack his opponents’ record and project strength on familiar issues like the economy, immigration, and foreign policy. He attempted to portray Harris as a liberal out of step with voters and repeatedly called the U.S. a “failing nation” and on the brink of “World War III” because of the Biden-Harris Administration. “She’s a Marxist,” he said of Harris, who has repeatedly proclaimed her support of capitalism.
Harris, meanwhile, repeatedly called out her opponent when he made false claims, and lambasted his record while pointing to her own on issues like reproductive rights, crime, and immigration.
Read More: ‘I’ve Made My Choice’: Taylor Swift Endorses Kamala Harris for President
The campaigns adhered to the same debate rules established in June for the CNN-moderated matchup between Trump and Biden, including muted microphones when a candidate was not speaking, no direct questions between the candidates, and no live audience.
Here are the biggest moments from the night.
Trump says he would not sign a national abortion ban
The candidates sparred over abortion, one of Trump’s biggest electoral vulnerabilities, as Harris slammed Trump over his role in appointing three Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. “One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” Harris said.
In describing the ways women have been denied abortion care, Harris said that her opponent would enact a national abortion ban if he wins—a claim that Trump rebuffed. “It’s a lie,” he said, adding, “I’m not signing a ban and there’s no reason to sign a ban because we’ve gotten what everybody wanted.” Pressed further on where he stands on a national abortion ban, Trump would not explicitly say if he would veto one, instead claiming that it would never get through Congress.
Trump said the issue of abortion should be left to individual states, but he also defended his endorsement of the six-week abortion ban on the Florida ballot, a shift from his previous position. “It’s the vote of the people now. It’s not tied up in the federal government. I did a great service in doing it,” Trump said of overturning Roe v. Wade. “It took courage to do it. And the Supreme Court had great courage in doing it.”
More than 20 states have banned abortion or restricted the procedure earlier in pregnancy since the Supreme Court eliminated a constitutional right to abortion nationwide.
Trump repeated similar rhetoric he used in the previous presidential debate with Biden. He called Democrats “radical” for their stance on abortion and falsely accused Harris’ running mate Minn. Gov. Tim Walz of supporting “execution after birth.” ABC News moderator Linsey Davis later fact-checked the claim, saying that it is not legal anywhere in the U.S. to execute a baby.
Harris, meanwhile, pledged that, if elected President, she would “proudly” sign a bill into law if Congress passes one that reinstates the protections that were guaranteed by Roe v. Wade.
Harris also said that restrictions on reproductive rights have threatened people’s access to fertility treatments, including IVF.
“The majority of Americans believe in a woman’s right to make decisions about her own life, and that is why in every state where this issue has been on the ballot—in red and blue states both—the people of America have voted for freedom,” she said.
Harris to Trump: ‘You’re not running against Joe Biden. You’re running against me”
Trump attempted to connect Harris to some of Biden’s more unpopular policies, claiming that the Vice President “is Biden” at one point during the debate.
“Remember this: She is Biden. You know, she’s trying to get away from Biden. ‘I don’t know the gentleman,’ she says. She is Biden,” Trump claimed. He added that Biden’s presidency is “the most divisive presidency in the history of our country.”
Harris responded with a laugh: “Clearly, I am not Joe Biden and I am certainly not Donald Trump. And what I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country.”
At another point during the debate, Trump criticized Biden’s handling of international issues and questioned his mental acuity, saying that “Biden had no idea how to talk to [Russian leader Vladimir Putin]” and suggested he “doesn’t even know he’s alive.”
Harris used the moment to pivot the focus back on her own candidacy, emphasizing that the debate was about her and not Biden: “First of all, I think it’s important to remind the former President, you’re not running against Joe Biden. You’re running against me,” she said.
Trump pushed baseless claim about immigrants eating pets
While discussing immigration during the debate, Trump amplified a highly controversial and unfounded claim about migrants in Springfield, Ohio. He suggested that Haitian immigrants in the area were eating pets, saying “They’re eating the dogs, the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.” The statement echoed a baseless internet conspiracy that has been debunked by local authorities and media fact-checkers.
David Muir, one of the debate moderators, promptly challenged Trump’s claims, highlighting that local police in Springfield had found no evidence to support such allegations. The rumors, which originated from a Facebook post and have been boosted by conservative media, were dismissed by officials who confirmed that there had been no credible reports of pets being harmed by the immigrant community.
Harris visibly reacted with disbelief as Trump continued to repeat the unfounded allegations.
Trump walks back recent admission that he lost the 2020 election
The former President attempted to retract his recent comment that he lost the 2020 election “by a whisker,” claiming that he had been speaking sarcastically.
“I said that?” Trump asked after the moderator read back his statement from a recent interview at a Moms for Liberty event. Trump, who has long maintained that the 2020 election was “stolen” despite a lack of evidence, insisted his recent remark “was said sarcastically,” and he firmly rejected any acknowledgement of his loss to Biden.
Trump, Harris clash over economic plans
The debate began with a question about the state of the economy—one of the top issues facing voters. Asked if Americans are better off than they were four years ago, Harris didn’t directly answer but instead said she was “raised as a middle-class kid” and has a plan to help American families worried about the economy and cost of living. “I believe in the ambition, the aspiration, the dreams of the American people,” she said, touting her plan to build an “opportunity economy.”
Harris has proposed several bold economic measures including a first-ever federal ban on grocery price gouging, expanded down-payment assistance for first-time home buyers, and providing $6,000 per child to families for the first year of the child’s life. She sought to draw a sharp contrast between her economic policies and those outlined by Trump, who has championed ratcheting up tariffs on America’s trade partners, extending the sweeping array of tax cuts he signed in 2017, and lowering the corporate tax rate to 15% from 21%.
Trump defended his plan to enact tariffs on imports from other countries, including China—a proposal Harris has likened to a sales tax on the middle class. “We’re doing tariffs on other countries. Other countries are going to finally, after 75 years, pay us back,” Trump said. “The tariff will be substantial in some cases.”
Trump also attempted to blame Harris for the persistent inflation in recent years, falsely claiming that the U.S. experienced the highest inflation ever under President Biden’s term. (Inflation hit 9.1% in June 2022; it hit nearly 15% in 1980 and was even higher in 1917). Trump also falsely claimed there was “no inflation, virtually no inflation” during his term in office. Cumulative inflation over the course of Trump’s presidency was about 7.8%.
Harris critiqued Trump’s history of racist remarks
Asked about his past comments falsely suggesting that Harris “happened to turn Black” for political purposes, Trump said he “couldn’t care less” about her race.
“I don’t care what she is,” he said. “I read that she was Black. Then I read that she was not Black.”
Harris, born of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, responded by accusing Trump of using race to divide Americans throughout his life. She pointed to a housing discrimination lawsuit his development company faced in the 1970s for denying housing to Black Americans; his taking out a full-page ad calling for the death penalty against the Central Park Five, a group of young Black and Latino teenagers who were ultimately exonerated; and the “birther” conspiracy he started against former President Barack Obama.
“I think it’s a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be President who has, consistently, over the course of his career, attempted to use race to divide the American people,” Harris said.
“We don’t want a leader who is constantly trying to have Americans point their fingers at each other,” she added.
Harris invites Americans to attend a Trump rally
Harris took a jab at Trump by inviting viewers to attend one of his rallies, describing it as “a really interesting thing to watch.”
“You will see during the course of his rallies, he talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter, he will talk about windmills cause cancer,” she said. “What you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom. And I will tell you, the one thing you will not hear him talk about is you. You will not hear him talk about your needs, your dreams, and your desires.”
Trump dismissed Harris’s comments, falsely claiming that people don’t attend her rallies.
Trump: ‘I probably took a bullet to the head’ because of Democrats
Trump suggested that the rhetoric from Harris and other Democrats about him may have fueled the failed assassination attempt on him at a rally in July.
“I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things that they say about me,” he said in response to Harris’ claim that he would weaponize the Justice Department against his political enemies if reelected. “They talk about democracy. I’m a threat to democracy. They’re the threat to democracy with a fake Russia, Russia, Russia investigation that went nowhere.”
Investigators have not identified a motive for the shooter.
Trump: ‘I have nothing to do with Project 2025’
Harris accused Trump of planning to implement Project 2025, a controversial presidential transition operation led by the right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation. The project’s nearly 1,000-page handbook outlines a conservative agenda for the next President, including dramatically expanding presidential power and cracking down on abortion pills. Trump has vehemently denied any involvement in the project.
“I have nothing to do with Project 2025,” Trump said during the debate. “I haven’t read it. I don’t want to read it purposely. I’m not going to read it.”
While Project 2025 doesn’t explicitly say that it’s intended for Trump, it applauds policies implemented during his previous administration and some of his closest advisers were involved in crafting its proposals.
Trump won’t say if he wants Ukraine to win its war with Russia
The conflict in Ukraine emerged as a focal point during the debate, as the candidates presented starkly contrasting views on U.S. involvement and strategy. Trump notably avoided directly addressing whether he wanted Ukraine to win its war against Russia, instead focusing on his desire to end the conflict.
“I want the war to stop, I want to save lives,” Trump said, without elaborating on how he would achieve this.
Harris condemned Trump’s stance and argued that his approach would have dire consequences for Ukraine and U.S. allies. “If Donald Trump were President, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now,” she said, claiming that Trump has a record of cozying up to dictators and undermining democratic values. “The alliances we have around the world are dependent on our ability to look out for our friends and not favor our enemies, because you adore strongmen instead of caring about democracy.”
Trump claims ‘Israel will not exist’ under a Harris presidency
Harris maintained the same stance she has previously shared regarding the war in Gaza: She condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack while expressing support for a cease-fire and a two-state solution.
“Israel has a right to defend itself,” Harris said. “It is also true far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed—children, mothers. What we know is that this war must end.”
Trump claimed that Hamas would not have launched the attack on Oct. 7 that started the war in Gaza if he had been President at the time. He went on to slam Harris for her stance on the issue, saying that the Vice President “hates Israel.” He predicted—with no evidence to indicate this—that if Harris were to be elected President, “Israel will not exist within two years from now.”
Harris says world leaders are ‘laughing’ at Trump
Harris continued to condemn the former President for denying the results of the 2020 election. She said that Trump was “fired” by the American people when he lost the 2020 race, adding that the country “cannot afford” to have a leader who denies election results.
“I have traveled the world as Vice President of the United States, and world leaders are laughing at Donald Trump,” Harris said. “I have talked with military leaders, some of whom worked with you, and they say you’re a disgrace.”
Trump retorted by pointing to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s endorsement of him.
Moderators fact-check the debate, sparking both praise and criticism
During the first presidential debate in June, Biden and Trump threw out claims that were false or misleading—and CNN moderators didn’t provide real-time fact-checking, prompting widespread criticism from the public. (CNN did post fact-checks online).
That wasn’t the case in Tuesday night’s debate. ABC News moderators Muir and Davis repeatedly fact-checked Trump’s claims, including falsehoods about Walz supporting “execution after birth” and migrants eating pets.
Some people online applauded Muir and Davis for fact-checking the candidates during the debate. “Shout out to the ABC moderators for fact-checking in real time. This is how you do it,” journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones posted on X.
But conservatives and Trump allies railed against Muir and Davis. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who suspended his independent campaign for President and endorsed Trump in August, accused the moderators of being “biased” for “constantly fact-checking” Trump but neglecting to do the same for Harris. Conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro said in a post on X that the moderators were “a disgrace to their profession.”
“Omg MORE FACT CHECKING FROM ABC - THIS IS THE WORST ANCHOR PILE-ON I HAVE EVER SEEN. 3 against 1,” conservative podcaster and former Fox News debate moderator Megyn Kelly posted on X.
CNN anchor Abby Phillip posted on X in defense of her ABC News peers: “Just fyi: when there is asymmetrical lying, there will be asymmetrical fact checking.”
Write to Nik Popli at [email protected].
