Key takeaways from a debate that featured tense clashes

Donald Trump, Kamala Harris at presidential debate. Image via AP

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris faced each other on the debate stage Tuesday night for the first — and possibly the last — time.

The Democratic Vice President opened the faceoff with a power move, marching across the stage to Trump’s lectern to shake his hand.

“Kamala Harris,” she said, introducing herself as the pair met for the first time ever. “Let’s have a good debate.”

“Nice to see you. Have fun,” the former Republican President responded.

The exchange set the tone for the 90-minute debate to come: Harris controlled the conversation at times, baiting Trump with jabs at his economic policy, his refusal to concede his 2020 election loss and even his performance at his rallies.

Trump, while measured early on, grew more annoyed as the night went on. And one significant moment played out after the two candidates left the stage, when megastar Taylor Swift said she’ll vote for Harris.

Some takeaways on a historic debate:

Fighting in a way Biden could not

In her first answer, the former prosecutor said Trump’s tariffs would effectively create a sales tax on the middle class. She soon accused Trump of presiding over the worst attack on American democracy since the Civil War — the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. She charged him with telling women what they could do with their bodies. And she mocked Trump’s praise of dictators “who would eat you for lunch.”

Harris effectively controlled much of the conversation with such attacks and baited Trump into responses that were at times vents, and at others, reminders of his wild rhetoric and fixation on the past.

“You did in fact lose that election,” Harris said of the 2020 race that Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden but still insists he won. “Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people,” she said, referring to Biden’s winning vote total.

But Harris may have got under her opponent’s skin the most when she went after his performance at his rallies, noting that people often leave early.

Growing visibly irritated, Trump insisted that his rallies were larger than hers.

A smiling Harris frequently shifted her message from Trump back to the American people.

“You will not hear him talk about your needs, your dreams and your needs and your desires,” Harris said. “And I’ll tell you, I believe you deserve a President who actually puts you first.”

‘She is Biden’

Trump was often on defense, but he did drive the core message of his campaign: Inflation and immigration are hammering Americans.

Immigrants, Trump said, have “destroyed the fabric of our country.”

He repeatedly tied Harris to Biden.

“She is Biden,” he said.

“The worst inflation we’ve ever had,” Trump added. “A horrible economy because inflation has made it so bad. And she can’t get away with that.”

Harris responded: “Clearly, I am not Joe Biden and I am certainly not Donald Trump. And what I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country.”

Trump also went after Harris for moving away from some of the progressive positions she took in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, urging voters not to believe the more moderate tone she’s striking in this campaign.

“She’s going to my philosophy now. In fact, I was going to send her a MAGA hat,” he said, referring to the red “Make America Great Again” baseball caps that many of his supporters wear. “But if she ever got elected, she’d change it.”

Swift gets off the sideline

One of the most consequential moments came in a post on one of the most followed accounts on Instagram moments after the debate ended.

Swift has a loyal following among young women, a demographic Harris needs to turn out in big numbers. She called Harris a “gifted leader,” telling her fans to do their research and make their own decisions, but “I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice.”

Trump on race, Harris on the attack

ABC moderator David Muir asked Trump point-blank about his allegation last month that Harris had belatedly “turned Black.” Harris is Black and South Asian and a graduate of Howard University, a historically Black school in Washington.

Trump tried to play down the matter. “I don’t care what she is, you make a big deal out of something, I couldn’t care less,” Trump said.

Harris, however, had her opening and she rattled off a long list of Trump’s racial controversies: his legal settlement for discrimination against prospective Black tenants at his New York apartment buildings in the 1970s; his ad calling for the execution of Black and Latino teenagers — who were wrongly arrested — in the Central Park jogger case in the 1980s; and his false claims that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

“I think the American people want something better than that, want better than this,” Harris said.

Trump accused Harris of trying to “divide” people and dismissed her claims as dated and irrelevant.

“This is a person that has to stretch back 40, 50 years ago because there’s nothing now,” he said.

Both dug un on abortion positions

Harris came out swinging in defense of abortion rights, perhaps the strongest issue for Democrats since Trump’s nominees created a Supreme Court majority to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion. Her sharp arguments provided a vivid contrast to Biden’s rambling comments on the issue during his June debate with Trump.

“The government, and Donald Trump, certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” Harris said. She painted a vivid picture of women facing medical complications, gut-wrenching decisions and the need to travel out of state for an abortion.

Trump was just as fierce in defense, saying he returned the issue to the states, an outcome he said many Americans wanted. He struggled with accuracy, however, repeating the false claim that Democrats support abortion even after babies are born. He stuck to that even after he was corrected by moderator Linsey Davis.

“I did a great service in doing that. It took courage to do it,” Trump said of the overturning of Roe v. Wade and its constitutional protections for abortion. “And the Supreme Court had great courage in doing it. And I give tremendous credit to those six justices.”

Polls has shown significant opposition to overturning Roe and voters have punished Republicans in recent elections for it.

Who’s talking now?

Trump took a Harris talking point and directed it right back at her. It happened when he objected after Harris interrupted him.

“Wait a minute, I’m talking now,” Trump said. “Sound familiar?”

He was putting his own spin on a line Harris used famously against Mike Pence in the 2020 vice presidential debate when she rebuked Pence for interrupting, saying, “Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking.”

Message to the middle

In a divided nation, the election will ultimately be decided by a small slice of swing voters in only a handful of states. And in a nod toward that fact, Harris made an explicit appeal to voters across the political spectrum — including Republicans.

She noted that she is a gun owner. She cited the “late, great John McCain,” a reference to the Arizona Republican senator and war hero whom Trump criticized for being captured by enemy soldiers. And she listed the many Republicans who formerly served in the Trump administration who have now endorsed her campaign.

Trump, meanwhile, offered little outreach to voters in the middle, ignoring the calls for unity that framed his summertime convention speech.

Harris seized on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to make another explicit appeal to undecided voters.

“It’s time to turn the page,” she said. “And if that was a bridge too far for you, well, there is a place in our campaign for you.”

A retrained Trump — except when he wasn’t

Democrats hoped and Republicans feared that Trump would lose his cool on stage. At first he didn’t, but as Harris increasingly got under his skin, he went to some dark places.

Trump amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio are eating pets — ABC’s David Muir noted that local officials say that is not happening — as he argued that the Biden-Harris administration was admitting dangerous immigrants.

When Harris pressed him on the array of criminal and civil cases against him, Trump similarly fumed. He accused Harris and Biden of planting all the cases.

“I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things they said about me,” Trump said, referencing the assassination attempt in July by a gunman whose motives are unknown.

When pressed on whether he had any responsibility for Capitol riot, Trump raised his voice, blaming both Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, who was the House speaker at the time, and the Democratic mayor of Washington. He said the rioters have “been treated so badly” and once again denied he lost the 2020 election.

Harris replied, “Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people, let’s be clear about that, and clearly he’s having a very difficult time processing that.”

Early skirmish on the economy

The debate opened with an unexpectedly wonky exchange on the economy: Harris took on Trump for his plan to put in place sweeping tariffs and for the trade deficit he ran as President; Trump slammed Harris for inflation that he incorrectly said was the worst in the country’s history.

Trump said people look back on his presidency’s economy fondly. “I created one of the greatest economies in the history of our country,” he said. Harris flatly told viewers, “Donald Trump has no plan for you.”

Americans are slightly more likely to trust Trump over Harris when it comes to handling the economy, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs poll from August.

Gender an afterthought

Harris would be the nation’s first female President. But her gender was an afterthought during the debate.

She made no references to the historic nature of her candidacy. Neither did Trump.

And there were no performative moments in which gender was an issue. Who could forget Trump’s decision to stand behind his last female opponent, Hillary Clinton, during a 2016 debate? He also called Clinton a “nasty woman.” Afterward, Clinton said she was creeped out.

But on Tuesday night, both candidates stayed behind their podiums as instructed and there were no explicit jabs regarding gender.

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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.