Donald Trump and Kamala Harris sparred at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday, September 10th, during the presidential debate hosted by ABC. The debate covered multiple issues and was fraught with intense exchanges between the two candidates.
Harris condemned the Oct. 7th attack by Hamas on Israel and added that, “Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed” by Israel’s ongoing offensive. The sitting vice president reiterated support for a ceasefire in exchange for hostages and said that she sympathized with both sides affected by the fighting.
Trump claimed that the war would not have happened under his watch. He claimed, “She hates Israel. If she is president, I believe Israel will not exist within two years from now. I’ve been pretty good at predictions, but I hope I’m wrong on that one.”
Harris argued, “I will always give Israel the ability to defend itself,” while expressing support for a two-state solution.
Another issue discussed was abortion. The Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade this year and Trump said that it (the Court] gave autonomy to individual states to vote on the issue domestically. Harris, however, disagreed, and said that it could put women at risk in emergency cases.
Trump also lambasted the Biden-Harris border policy. “They allowed [in] criminals. Many, many millions of criminals. They allowed terrorists. They allowed common street criminals. They allowed people to come in, drug dealers, to come into our country, and they’re now in the United States.” Harris countered and accused Trump of blocking a border bill earlier this year that she believed would have alleviated the matter.
Both candidates vehemently attacked each other without holding back punches while denying the other’s accusations.
Trump and Harris are literally neck to neck in most opinion polls and many predict a very close race.