Presidential Debate 2024 Live: Donald Trump vs Kamala Harris
Former US President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris went head-to-head in their first presidential debate on Tuesday night. The debate, hosted by ABC News and simulcast on NBC, began at 9 pm EST (6:30 am IST) and lasted for close to 90 minutes. Both the candidates came down heavily upon each other over a variety of issues such as the economy, abortion rights, Israel-Gaza and Russia-Ukraine wars and immigration laws.
Trump pegged Biden-Harris as "the worst president, the worst vice president in the history of our country," to which Harris responded, "And I do believe that the American people know we all have so much more in common than what separates us, and we can chart a new way forward."
Just minutes after the debate had closed, American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift took to Instagram to endorse Harris for President as a "steady-handed, gifted leader." She showed her conviction that "we can do so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos." Harris criticized Trump for bringing the nation into a state of "worst employment" since the Great Depression during his term. That debate, in June, between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was a disaster for Democrats. Trump won the debate simply because of Biden's poor articulation of his speech and how unconvincing it was, repeated over and over.
What is at stake?
With time fast running out before the November elections, Harris-who threw her hat into the ring just seven weeks ago-has limited time to define her candidacy and take control of voters. To date, Harris has not taken any hard policy positions. This debate gave her an opportunity to carve out an identity for herself different from Trump and to take the story away from her opponent. By contrast, Trump's supporters hope that he can keep on message and salvage what has been a difficult summer for his campaign. Meanwhile, Trump has consistently taken to the stage and dominated political discourse, hoping to galvanize general election voters on hot-button issues like immigration and trade.
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