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Luciana Mendy
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump took to the stage on Sept. 10, at the National Constitution Center for the 2024 Presidential Candidate debate hosted by ABC. Throughout the 90-minute debate, the two candidates covered their views on key election topics.
News anchor David Muir started the debate on the topic of the economy. Harris shared her plan to build an “opportunity economy,” by addressing the housing shortage, supporting families with a child tax credit of $6,000 and a $50,000 tax deduction to start-up small businesses.
Harris criticized Trump’s past and future plans of tax-cutting the wealthy, and she addressed one of Trump’s economic plans — which she dubs the “Trump Sales Tax” — claiming that it will be a 20% tax on everyday goods.
Trump denied that he would institute a sales tax but explained that he plans to implement tariffs on other countries. He referenced that the tariffs he had from his previous term are still in place with the Biden-Harris administration and have brought in billions of dollars.
Harris raised the concern that when tariffs are increased the burden falls on consumers, leading to more expensive goods and an additional $4,000 per year in expenses for a typical family. However, Trump claims that only China and other countries will have higher prices.
Trump also addressed the high inflation rates under the Biden-Harris administration and claimed to have made the “greatest economy” during his term, which he plans to do again.
Harris responds by arguing that Trump left the Biden Administration with the worst unemployment ever since the great depression and that she and Biden had to “clean Trump’s mess up.”
The discussion of women’s reproductive rights began with the second news anchor Linsey Davis questioning Trump about whether or not women should trust him on the issue of abortion since he has changed his position on it multiple times.
Trump responded by claiming that Harris would allow abortions in the ninth month of pregnancy and that Harris’s vice president nominee Tim Waltz was okay with the “execution” of an infant after birth. However, Davis clarified that infanticide is illegal in all states and according to NBC News, no Democrats have advocated for this.
Trump discussed his accomplishment of overturning Roe V. Wade and the importance of letting the states handle their abortion laws, allowing it to be the vote of the people instead of the federal government which he claims both Democrats and Republicans wanted. Trump also clarified that he strongly believes in exceptions for abortions in cases of rape or incest.
Harris recalled the “Trump abortion bans” in 20 states that make receiving or giving an abortion illegal, with no exceptions for rape or incest. Harris pledged if Congress passes a bill to put the protections of Roe V. Wade back in place, she will sign it into law.
Harris also accused Trump of planning to create a national abortion ban if he becomes president again. Trump did not answer whether or not he would veto a bill calling for a national ban while in presidency, because he claimed it would never happen due to the decision now being in the hands of the states.
Immigration was brought up throughout the debate but it wasn’t until Muir asked Harris why it took the Biden Administration so long to tighten up border control that the topic was thoroughly discussed.
The lack of action on the border, according to Harris, was because even though the Biden administration had previously drafted a bill to help with border security by providing more border police and funds to prevent drug trafficking. Trump, however, got Republican Congress members to vote the bill down.
Trump addressed the issue of illegal immigrants committing crimes in America, and the effects it has had during Biden’s term. He reported that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are eating the pets of the residents living there, but Muir stated the city manager has found no conclusive evidence to support these claims.
Trump also brought up his new immigration plan to deport at least 11 million immigrants, using local police and the National Guard to execute the plan. He explained that his plan was necessary to solve the increase in crime rates.
In terms of the Israel-Hamas conflict, Harris explained that she believes Israel will always have a right to defend itself, but how the country chooses to do so matters. A ceasefire and eventual two-state solution that ensures security for both groups is how Harris plans to solve the conflict.
Trump claimed that both the Israel-Hamas conflict and the Russia-Ukraine invasion would have never happened if he had been the president.
Trump also declared that Harris hates Israel and that if she were to become president, Israel wouldn’t exist after two years.
Harris argues that Trump is weak in foreign policy and that dictators around the world only want Trump in power to manipulate him. Trump responds with the fact that the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has endorsed Harris.
Trump argues that he will be able to solve the Russia-Ukraine conflict if he is president-elect within 24 hours by using his relationship with Putin and Ukraine’s president Zalinsky to negotiate. However, Trump never answered whether he wanted Ukraine to lose or win the war, after being asked twice.
According to Harris, the only reason Trump would be able to solve the war within 24 hours would be by just giving the war up. She claims that if Trump were president then Russia would have already taken over Ukraine. Trump disagreed, believing that Putin would be content after his negotiations.
The debate also touched on Trump’s role in the 2020 Jan. 6 protests, which Trump claimed to have nothing to do with other than his speech since he told his followers to do this protest “peacefully and patriotically.” He then pivots to the criminal rates of immigrants again and calls Kamala the “Border Tzar.”
Trump also argues that the protest would have never happened if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the mayor of Washington handled security better.
When asked, Trump clarified that he still believes that he won the 2020 election, to which Harris later said that Trump is having a difficult time being “fired by 81 million people.” Harris also said the importance of maintaining a fair and free election.
Harris used her closing statement to explain that she wants to find “a new way forward” and plans to do this by creating her opportunity economy and bringing down the cost of living
Trump focused completely on Harris during his closing statement and questioned why she hadn’t done any of her promised plans during her term as vice president. He also finished by saying that the nation is in serious decline due to Harris.
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