WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The first debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, hosted by ABC News, is in the books. For 90 minutes, both candidates were given the opportunity to address issues Americans care about.
It was the first time both candidates met on the debate stage, and it didn’t take long for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump to exchange blows.
It started with a formal handshake and quickly went to both Harris and Trump taking hits at each other.
Both candidates criticized the other when questioned on inflation and the economy.
“She doesn’t have a plan,” said Trump.
While Harris responded, “Donald Trump actually has no plan for you.”
Abortion rights is a major concern for Harris.
“The government and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” said Harris.
While Trump defended the overturning of Roe v. Wade saying it is better to make it a state issue.
“The Supreme Court had great courage in doing it. And I give tremendous credit to those six justices,” said Trump.
Border security is a key issue for the former president.
“Millions of people come into our country. Many of them are criminals,” said Trump.
The vice president called out Trump for convincing Republicans to sink the bipartisan immigration bill.
“He’d prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem,” said Harris.
After the debate the Harris campaign said the vice president wants another debate against the former president. Trump’s response was, “because they lost”.
Neither candidate had a direct answer to how to deal with the issues in Ukraine and Gaza. On Gaza, Harris said a ceasefire and hostage deal are necessary and Trump said Harris hates Israel and Arabs. On Ukraine, the former president said he wouldn’t have allowed the war to start, and Harris criticized his relationship with Vladimir Putin.
There’s no word if another debate will be scheduled.
