Trump – Harris Debate: Mr. Trump Blames Democrats for the Assassination Attempt
The Trump – Harris debate began at 9:00 p.m. on September 10, US time, or 8:00 a.m. on September 11 in Vietnam, lasting 90 minutes with two commercial breaks.
On time, the two candidates took the debate stage and shook hands. Ms. Harris walked toward Mr. Trump and extended her hand, which the former president accepted.
This was the first time Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump met in person. The two debated notable issues such as abortion, the economy, immigration, Mr. Trump’s legal troubles… in their first tense presidential debate on the evening of September 10 in Pennsylvania.
Harris wants to help small businesses, Trump demands tariffs on Chinese goods
The first question for the two US presidential candidates was the issue that voters care about most: the economy and the cost of living.
Asked if she believed Americans were better off today than they were four years ago, Harris talked about her plan to help families and small businesses.
She touted her plan to build an “opportunity economy,” including proposals to make housing more affordable and expand the child tax credit.
She also criticized Mr Trump, saying the former president would cut taxes for “billionaires and large corporations”.
Mr Trump responded by saying he would impose tariffs on other countries, such as China. He has repeatedly said he would impose tariffs on goods from China.
Trump denies involvement in Project 2025
Ms. Harris criticized Mr. Trump for his involvement in Project 2025, a 922-page document containing controversial policy proposals to guide the next conservative administration. According to ABC News, the document was drafted by at least 20 members of Mr. Trump’s administration and allies.
Mr Trump again denied knowing about Project 2025: “Everybody knows I’m a transparent person,” he said.
Fierce debate on economic issues
Ms. Harris has criticized Mr. Trump’s intention to impose high tariffs on foreign goods, a proposal she likened to a sales tax on the middle class. She has also outlined plans to provide tax benefits to American families.
“Donald Trump left us with the worst unemployment since the Great Depression,” Harris said, referring to Trump’s presidency from 2017 to 2021. “What we did was clean up Donald Trump’s mess,” she said.
Trump also criticized Harris for the persistent inflation in the United States during the Biden-Harris administration. He said inflation “has been a disaster for the people, for the middle class, for everyone.”
The Republican candidate also quickly turned to his top issue: immigration, claiming once again that immigrants from “crazy asylums” were crossing the US southern border with Mexico.
Assassination attempt: Trump blames Democrats
Former President Trump said that the Democratic Party’s rhetoric against him was the cause of the assassination plot during his campaign in Pennsylvania in July.
“I probably got a bullet in the head because of what they said about me. They said about democracy. They said I was a threat to democracy. (But) they were a threat to democracy,” Trump said.
Trump says Harris “hates Israel”
Former President Trump said Israel would cease to exist if Ms Harris were elected US president, but he did not elaborate. “She (Harris) hates Israel,” Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump also said that the war in the Gaza Strip would not have happened if he were US president.
Harris reiterated her views on US policy toward Israel in the context of the war in Gaza, declaring that “Israel has the right to defend itself.”
“I will always give Israel the ability to defend itself, especially with regard to Iran and any threat that Iran and its proxies pose to Israel,” the US vice president said.
Ms. Harris talks about the 2020 presidential election
Ms Harris has criticised Mr Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 US presidential election. “We cannot have a president who tries to overturn the will of the American people, as he has done in the past,” the Democratic candidate said.
However, former President Trump continued to insist that he did not lose the 2020 election.
“I am not Joe Biden, and I am certainly not Donald Trump”
This may be a purposeful statement made by Ms. Harris at the debate, after she has been criticized for not showing a clear political identity during this year’s election season.
“I am not Joe Biden and I am certainly not Donald Trump. What I bring is a new generation of leadership to our country, someone who believes in what is possible, someone who brings a sense of optimism about what we can do, instead of always disparaging the American people,” Ms. Harris said.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump said: “She (Harris) is Biden. She’s trying to get rid of Biden. She keeps saying ‘I don’t know that gentleman’… Our country is going through the worst inflation it’s ever had, it’s a terrible economy.”
Trump says he will not sign nationwide abortion ban
Mr Trump said that “every legal scholar, every Democrat, every Republican, liberal, conservative, wants abortion to be returned to the states”.
When Ms Harris said Mr Trump would sign a nationwide abortion ban if he won, Mr Trump replied: “That’s a lie. I’m not going to sign it because we’ve got what the people wanted.”
Debate moderator Linsey Davis asked Trump directly whether he would veto the ban, saying Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance had said the former president would indeed do so.
“I didn’t discuss that with JD Vance. I don’t care if he has a point of view, and I think he speaks for me,” Trump said.
Debate ends: Mr. Trump calls Ms. Harris the “worst vice president” in US history
Mr. Trump questioned why Ms. Harris had not yet carried out her campaign plans, while she was already vice president and working in the White House.
“She’s going to do all these great things? Why hasn’t she done it? She’s been there for three and a half years. The administration has had three and a half years to fix the border. They’ve had three and a half years to create jobs and all the things we’ve talked about,” Trump said.
The Republican candidate ended the debate by calling Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris the worst president and vice president in American history, respectively.
Ms Harris also made a closing statement at the debate. The Democratic candidate said that America faced a choice between two visions: “One focused on the future, and the other focused on the past in an attempt to hold us back.”