As the 2024 presidential race intensifies, both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’ campaigns are ramping up their efforts to gain the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the White House. On September 10th, Trump and Harris took the debate stage together for the first time. On October 1st, in a highly anticipated clash, Senator JD Vance and Governor Tim Walz were center stage, each representing the ideological poles of their respective parties. Much like the presidential debates, their exchange on topics like immigration, abortion, and economic policy reinforced the deep divide between Republicans and Democrats. Both candidates aimed to rally their bases and sway undecided voters with starkly different approaches to the nation’s most pressing issues.
The presidential debate between Harris and Trump was fiery and both nominees came prepared to go on offense. Trump repeatedly attacked Harris on immigration—which Joe Biden had tasked Harris with solving as vice president—and the economy under her administration. While it has come down slightly recently, for many families it is still difficult to afford basic necessities for themselves and their families. While Trump needed a night to remember, it quickly turned into a night to forget. From minute one, Trump was easily baited by Harris into side tangents, ranging from crowd sizes to illegal immigrants coming in by the millions, and “abortion in the ninth month,” which was quickly fact-checked by moderator Lindsey Davis as both factually inaccurate and constituting murder. On the first topic about the economy, Harris spent the entirety of her two minutes of speaking time addressing its current state and laying out her plan for how to solve the crisis. However, when it was the former President’s turn to speak, he spent only 54 seconds on the economy, before turning his attention towards spreading false claims about illegal immigrants coming into this country from “prisons, jails, mental institutions, and insane asylums” and falsely claiming that the immigrants are “destroying [America]” and they have the “highest level of criminality.” Trump’s false claims about illegal immigrants were a theme throughout the night, most memorably claiming that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating the dogs and cats of the American residents living there. It was later reported that the vast majority of the over 12,000 Haitian migrants in Springfield were there legally and there were no reports that any of them were eating pets of any kind. This became a theme of the night, with Trump often going off on irrelevant side tangents that made much of what he said unintelligible.
Harris, on the other hand, was composed and confident, using her speaking time much more effectively than her Republican opponent. While she spent less time speaking during the debate than Trump, she spent more time than he did on offense, attacking his record for over 17 minutes compared to Trump’s thirteen. Harris used her rebuttal time efficiently and kept a close eye on Trump’s false claims, and made it a point to call them out when the moderators failed to. Harris’ facial expressions allowed her to communicate to the American audiences without needing to speak. While her opponent scowled angrily into the camera as she spoke, she laughed to herself when Trump attacked her record, and was visibly surprised when Trump made false claims, almost as if trying to show off his true personality to the millions of viewers nationwide. Harris attacked Trump’s stance on issues such as abortion and single-handedly struck down Biden’s border security bill, and rolled the tape on Trump’s attacks on women, his criminal cases, and refusing to accept the results of the 2020 election. Harris’ debate performance earned her a boost in the polls, taking her above Trump in many swing states for the first time. JD Vance and Tim Walz offered a glimpse into their policies and plans that will shape the election. The first topic of the debate examined immigration. JD Vance emphasized his concern on this issue, claiming that over 320,000 unaccompanied minors had been “lost” by the Department of Homeland Security, with some potentially being trafficked. However, though the actual report indicated that 32,000 children missed court appearances, it did not claim they were lost or trafficked, as Vance suggested. The report focused on procedural issues like missed notices rather than criminal negligence by the federal government. Vance also criticized the Customs and Border Protection One app, portraying it as a tool that allows illegal migrants to secure legal status easily. Regardless, fact-checkers from Keep Growing Wiser VERIFY (KGW VERIFY)—a news station dedicated to distinguishing between true and false claims—corrected this, noting that the app is primarily used for scheduling appointments and does not grant asylum or legal status directly.
Walz, in turn, emphasized the need for comprehensive immigration reform, pointing out the humanitarian aspects of current immigration issues. He supported providing pathways for asylum seekers and ensuring the humane treatment of those arriving at US borders.
The debate over abortion took center stage, with Walz criticizing Republicans’ stance, claiming they wanted a national registry for pregnant women through Project 2025. Fact-checkers from CBS News, however, found this claim to be false, as Project 2025 focuses on reporting abortion-related data, not creating a registry. Vance also made incorrect statements about Minnesota’s abortion law, inaccurately claiming that doctors were not required to provide lifesaving care to babies who survive abortions. In reality, Minnesota law mandates that medical personnel care for infants born alive, and the state has laws in place to ensure appropriate medical care.
Walz presented himself as an advocate for women’s autonomy over their healthcare decisions. Vance, on the other hand, echoed the broader Republican stance favoring increased restrictions on abortion, aligning with conservative efforts to push for leaving abortions up to the states, which has resulted in stricter abortion laws.
Both candidates also discussed the economy. Vance focused his statement on reducing government spending and lowering taxes. He argued that high inflation and an expanding federal deficit were results of Democratic economic policies, which he said stifled business growth and hurt working-class Americans. Walz, in contrast, defended his record as governor, pointing to the strong economic recovery in Minnesota post-pandemic and touting his state’s investment in education, healthcare, and infrastructure. He argued that these investments would lead to long-term growth and a more equitable society, whereas Vance’s policies would disproportionately benefit the wealthy.
This article also appears in our October 2024 edition.
