Kamala wins first US debate against lunatic Trump

Democrat Kamala Harris emerged as the winner of the first debate for the US Presidency, held this Tuesday (10), by ABC News. Facing a “lunatic” Donald Trump, the country’s vice president used the record audience to highlight the differences between her “economy of opportunity” and the Republican’s “politics of chaos” and his way of governing for the benefit of the rich.

“So to everyone who remembers what January 6th was like: let’s not regress, it’s time to turn the page. There’s a place for you [eleitor] in our campaign. To defend our democracy, to defend the rule of law and to end the chaos,” he said

“I was raised a middle-class girl, and I am the only person on this stage who has a plan for the middle class and working people. I believe in the ambition, the aspirations, and the dreams of the American people. And that is why I envision and have a plan to build what I call an opportunity economy,” Kamala argued.

The clash was marked by the new format of the presidential debate, which prevented the traditional direct exchange between the candidates. For this Tuesday, the campaigns and the broadcaster developed rules that included turning off the opposing candidate’s microphone during the other participant’s speech.

The rule was imposed by the Republican campaign, which made his participation conditional on it, fearing that Trump would lose his composure in a more open debate. His advisors are trying to convince him to tone down his speech to attract the votes of undecided voters, who, according to a survey by the New York Times/Siena College, represent around 20% of the population.

The former president’s staff’s attempt to shield him, however, did not work. In line with the standard behavior of the global far right, Trump used one central argument to justify all of the United States’ problems: illegal immigration.

“In Springfield, they [imigrantes] They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people who live there,” Trump said.

“Did you know that the crime rate in Venezuela and in countries around the world is going down? Do you know why? Because they took their criminals off the streets and gave them to her to put in our country,” Donald Trump lied.

At one point, the billionaire was questioned by one of the station’s reporters when he avoided questions about his support for January 6th to prevaricate about illegal immigration.

“We’ve already discussed immigration here tonight. I want to focus on this next item,” David Muir said.

For her part, Kamala said she wants to build an “economy of opportunity,” including proposals to make housing more affordable and expand the child tax credit. The candidate also attacked former President Donald Trump’s proposals, such as giving tax cuts to big corporations, and argued that such tax breaks would hurt middle-class American families.

“We know there is a housing shortage and housing costs are too high for many people. We know young families need support to raise their children. I intend to provide a $6,000 tax cut for these families, the largest child tax credit we have offered in a long time. So these young families can buy a crib, a car seat, clothes for their children,” Kamala said.

“My passion, one of them, is small business. My mother actually raised my sister and I, but there was a woman who helped raise us. We call her our second mother. She was a small business owner. I love our small businesses. My plan is to give a $50,000 tax deduction to small business startups, knowing that they are an essential part of the American economy,” said the vice president in defense of the American middle class.

“My opponent, on the other hand, his plan is to do what he’s done before, which is to offer a tax cut for billionaires and big corporations, which will result in a $5 trillion deficit for the United States. His plan includes something I call the ‘Trump sales tax,’ which would be a 20 percent tax on everyday goods that you rely on to get through the month. Economists have said that Trump’s sales tax would result in about $4,000 more a year for middle-class families, because of his policies and ideas that the middle class should pay for tax cuts for billionaires,” Kamala said.

In response, Trump denied charging a “sales tax” and threatened to tax countries as a way for “the world to pay us back for everything we’ve done for them.”

“We are imposing tariffs on other countries. Other countries will finally, after 75 years, pay us back for everything we have done for the world. And the tariff will be substantial in some cases. I have received billions and billions of dollars, as you know, from China,” Trump said.

Abortion and Obamacare

The issue of abortion was one of the highlights of the first part of the debate between the candidates for the presidency of the United States on Tuesday night. Kamala was especially emphatic and grew in the debate when questioned about the topic and said that her opponent will lead a “national plan to ban the right to abortion”.

“Now, in more than 20 states, there are Trump-sponsored abortion bans. These bans make it a criminal offense for a doctor or nurse to provide health care to women,” the vice president said. “In one state, it carries a sentence of life in prison. Trump’s abortion bans make no exception, even for rape and incest, which — understand what this means — a survivor of a rape crime does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to her body,” she continued.

“Furthermore, it is immoral, and you don’t have to abandon your faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government and Donald Trump certainly shouldn’t be telling a woman what to do with her body,” she said, adding that she would “proudly” sign a bill reinstating Roe v. Wade protections if elected president.

Trump is under fire for overturning Roe v. Wade, a US Supreme Court decision that guaranteed the right to legal abortion across the country.

“When Congress passes legislation to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade, as President of the United States, I will sign it into law,” the vice president said.

After losing the abortion issue, another issue left Trump visibly disconcerted. The Republican candidate admitted that he does not yet have a plan for public health, but rather “concepts of a plan.”

“We’re looking at different plans,” Trump said during his debate with Harris, without offering specific details. “I have concepts of a plan. I would just propose something that would be better… there are concepts and options that we have for that. And you’ll hear about that in the not too distant future.”

Donald Trump began this part of the debate by criticizing Obama Care, a program created during the Barack Obama administration. Asked if he has any plans to replace the program, the Republican said he has “outlines of a plan.”

Obamacare is the name given to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a measure adopted during the Obama administration in March 2010. Obamacare consists of federal rules that aim to make health insurance plans cheaper and provide a wider range of services. The US does not have a universal health system, similar to Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS). Private health care is expensive, and in general, public and private health insurance plans are also expensive.

Support for Israel and the two-state solution

Kamala Harris reinforced that Israel has the right to defend itself, but stressed that “too many Palestinians” have been killed, including children. “This war must end. It must end immediately. And the way it will end is we need a ceasefire and we need the hostages released,” she said.

The vice president also highlighted her support for the Two-State Solution, a proposal in which there is a peaceful existence of a Palestinian state and an Israeli state. Still, the Democrat stressed that she will provide all the support for Israel to defend itself, especially in relation to Iran.

“We need a two-state solution in which we can rebuild Gaza, in which Palestinians have the security, self-determination and dignity they deserve,” he concluded.

Trump, in turn, stated that if he were president, the wars in Israel and Ukraine would not have started.