Trump-Harris U.S. Presidential Debate Takeaways

Takeaways From The First Ever Meeting of The Two Presidential Candidates

Introduction

Last night, I watched the Presidential Debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Below are some key takeaways I took during the debate, and in the aftermath.

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General Debate Takeaways

• Harris came across as a better debater, but still didn’t admit to shortfalls made in this current administration, especially around the border and the economy.

• Registered voters said that at 63% to 37%, Harris performed better.

• Trump started very well, speaking first in the economy, an aspect of politics in which he had a sizeable opinion advantage. When speaking on policy points where the Democrats are perceived to have failed, or at least not performed to expectations, Trump could attract more independent voters who consider these policies as key policies for their personal interests. He didn’t take advantage of this.

• Over time, Trump got riled up. Harris mentioned his Father, money he received when he was younger, him declaring bankruptcy six times, and on people leaving his rallies early. This started Trump’s move away from policy and towards attacks, and extreme statements. He was speaking when the microphones were off, and had to be prompted multiple times by the hosts to cede his rambles due to time constraints. This could be interpreted by some as biased hosts and moderators. We’ll never know as Harris didn’t find herself in the position where she went over her time. Trump remaining on message is what his campaign wants. Although, when he rambles and goes off-topic, he gets more clicks and views. Which turns into more votes requires further analysis.

• Trump attacked Harris also, calling her a Marxist, and referring to her dad as a Marxist also that “taught her very well.”

• Trump at one point remarked he was going to send Harris a MAGA hat, due to the Democrats under Biden maintaining the Trump tariffs on China.

• Harris stated Trump’s main aims are to push further division in America, while Harris wishes to bring everyone together, regardless of their beliefs.

• Trump didn’t take advantage of Harris’ change in many policies over the years, including fracking and immigration.

• Trump had some quotes that the hosts then challenged him on, highlighting his embellishments of the truth, and outright lies. This further sparked supporters of Trump to label the moderators as biased, pushing Trump further for an answer when asking tough questions while not enacting the same attitude towards Harris. I believe they did ask Harris tough questions, but didn’t push her as heavily as they did Trump. Harris did, however, state on multiple occasions where she falls on key issues, likely limiting the moderators in an angle to push back.

• One Trump quote was on the reports regarding “immigrants eating pets”.

• Trump didn’t outright say he regretted anything about January 6th when prompted to say yes or no by the moderators. He instead launched into an in-depth answer about Nancy Pelosi’s rejection of having the National Guard present after the event.

Photo by Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash

• Trump stated he has no affiliation with Project 2025.

• Harris will not ban fracking.

• Harris would “proudly” resign Roe v Wade if passed by Congress.

• Trump, at one point, discussed closing the border. The vagueness here sounded more dramatic than anything that would likely occur. Dramatic rhetoric over actual action and policy on display here.

• Trump mentioned how under his sanctions, Iran was poor. Now they are a rich country again, and their regional actions in the Middle East are a sign of this. Trump was pushing his strategy of painting the Democrats as weak, and reinforcing no wars occurred during his Presidency.

• Trump stated Harris hates Israel, citing Harris not meeting with Netanyahu on his visit to US Congress as a reason. Harris did in fact meet with Netanyahu the following day, which she failed to state herself during the debate. Trump stated that with him in the White House instead of Biden, none of these conflicts around the world would be occurring, including the Middle East and Russia-Ukraine.

• Trump reiterated he believes he didn’t lose the 2020 election, winning in a 75% landslide victory.

• Harris focused on pushing more personal stories, covering her middle-class family upbringing, previous traumas experienced by women in her life, especially when discussing abortion. This will boost attitudes of Democrats to further support Harris, who in their eyes will have come across strongly.

• Trump went against previous comments made by JD Vance, stating Vance said them without his approval, thus distancing himself from his VP pick.

• Harris stated she is a gun owner. She wants to ban assault rifles, often used in shootings around America.

• Trump attacked Harris’ pick of Tim Walz as VP. However, Trump has previously praised Walz for the job he did after the George Floyd riots in 2020.

• Harris looked into the camera, and at Trump when he responded with comments pertaining to Harris. Trump didn’t look down the camera, or at Harris while she was speaking.

• Harris is presenting herself as a candidate seeking change. She aims to paint Trump as the incumbent due to his previous presidency. Whether Harris is a change from Biden versus a second Trump presidency is debatable, and depends on what voters want a change from, the last four years, or the four years before 2020.

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

• Harris also pursued the prosecutor vs felon angle, mentioning Trump’s sentencing at the end of November, his 34 felonies, and previous history of sexual assault.

• Trump stated “he probably took a bullet”, meaning the assassination attempt on his life, due to comments made by the Democrats.

• On the topic of Afghanistan, Harris stated she supported the decision to pull out, that is now saving $300m every day, and not seeing the loss of American lives. Trump rebutted stating they negotiated a weak deal, and the withdrawal was embarrassing.

• Neither spoke during the break, with Harris exiting first.

• Trump ended the debate with two minutes of attacking the Democrats, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris. The two departed without shaking hands, as they had when they entered the debate stage. This was the first time they had met.

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Conclusions: