Published 09/11/2024 16:13
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris kept former President Donald Trump, her Republican rival, on the defensive during their highly anticipated televised debate ahead of the November election.
The prime-time debate, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 56 days before the election, was the first face-to-face meeting between the two rivals. Harris took the initiative to greet Trump by stepping forward to shake his hand and introduce herself.
They went straight to the point: the economy. Both showed strength, but the Democrat presented more details, and perhaps that was the difference, since while she said she had a plan for Americans, the Republican did not present concrete elements about what he would do.
“Americans deserve better than this,” the vice president said, referring to her opponent, who, during the 90-minute debate, repeated false allegations about electoral fraud and did not commit to respecting the results of the 2024 elections.
“I had nothing to do with it,” Trump said at another point when asked if he regretted anything related to the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
However, Harris noted that she was in Congress that day, as vice president-elect and a senator, and “that day, the president (Trump) incited a crowd“.
We understand that the former president was politically charged and tried for this reason, Harris emphasized, insisting that Trump “has difficulty accepting that he lost” in 2020.
On the Middle East issue, the Democratic candidate reiterated her position that Israel has the right to defend itself, but the war “must end immediately.” Trump has not clearly defined his position on the issue.
Criminal, liar, were some of the adjectives used by Harris for Trump; in turn, the former president called his opponent “weak”.
At one point, Harris said, “You’re running against me,” calling out Trump’s constant references to President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the reelection race on July 21.
“Clearly, I am not Joe Biden and I am certainly not Donald Trump,” Harris stressed. The debate began at 9 p.m. ET between the two candidates from the only two parties who contest the White House every four years.
This opportunity that brought them face to face with less than two months to go until the election, was organized by ABC and took place at National Constitution Centerin Philadelphia.
Between exaggerations and falsehoods, Trump stated that Harris “is a Marxist” and that “criminals continue to come in (through the border) and that is bad for our economy”.
The former president repeated absurdities, such as the claim that immigrants are eating dogs and cats in some states or that those who enter illegally are in psychiatric hospitals in their home countries.
In turn, Vice President Harris warned that “we cleaned up the mess Donald Trump left“.
“I’m an open book,” said Trump, who also boasted that “we did an exceptional job“.
Overall, the debate ranged from issues such as the economy and taxes to migration and reproductive rights, the latter being a topic that generated a lot of tension between the two. Trump even suggested that a Third World War could happen.
While the debate was taking place without an audience, protests denouncing Israel’s war against the Palestinian population in Gaza could be heard nearby.
The protesters, carrying banners and signs with slogans such as “arms embargo now”, demanded justice.
In terms of numbers, Harris’s surge after replacing Biden on the ticket has so far not resulted in a commanding lead, with polls still within the margins of error.
To some observers, the tight race shows the enduring loyalty of Trump’s base as Harris tries to salvage an election that seemed lost to Democrats before Biden dropped his re-election bid.
The June 27 debate between Biden and Trump was what precipitated Biden’s historic exit from the race for a second term.
Source: Prensa Latina / Translation with online translator and editorial review
Source: vermelho.org.br
