Howdy and welcome to your Debrief! Epoch Times

 Howdy and welcome to your Debrief!

 

In their first (and likely only) debate, the two U.S. presidential candidates sparred over abortion, the economy, and the border while avoiding new policy specifics. Former president Donald Trump has ruled out another debate before the Nov. 5 election. 

More than 67 million viewers tuned in for the debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia on Tuesday. That makes it the most-watched debate in 16 years. 

Post-debate commentary has dwelled on a few main points: 

• The debate was an opportunity for Harris, as a new and relatively unfamiliar candidate, to introduce herself to voters. She tried to distance herself from President Joe Biden as Trump sought to link the two. 

• Democrats say Harris “won” the debate, putting Trump on the defensive as she brought up topics such as his criminal trials and the criticism he received from former aides. Trump says he won the debate. Republicans say he held his ground despite a “three-on-one fight,” with the ABC moderators teaming up against Trump. For example, they say, the moderators fact-checked Trump regularly but failed to fact-check Harris.  On the economy: Trump emphasized his proposed tariffs on imported goods to generate revenue. Harris touted her plan to expand the child tax credit and help new small businesses (US$50,000 tax credit) and first-time home buyers (US$25,000 in assistance).  On abortion: Harris, who backs a federal right to abortion, said Trump would sign “a national abortion ban.” Trump said he will never have to make that decision because a ban would never make it through a closely divided Senate anyway. He said abortion legislation should be up to the states. On immigration: Trump cited a sudden wave of illegal Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio (including a controversial claim that they are eating pets). He said Biden and Harris could have addressed border issues without Congress, using only executive authority. Harris criticized Trump for lobbying Republican lawmakers against a border bill earlier this year.  Trump spoke of Harris’s position on fracking, which has changed since her 2019 presidential campaign. Fracking is a process used to extract natural gas and oil from within the earth using a high-pressure injection of chemicals, water, and sand. Trump said she would ban fracking, but Harris vowed that she would not.

  Former President Donald Trump (L) and Vice President Kamala Harris debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Sept. 10, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

  Why It Matters: Will the debate move the needle for undecided voters in this close race?  “Typically, debates do not seem to have much of a lasting effect on vote choice,” Karen Hult, a political science professor at Virginia Tech, told The Epoch Times. The candidates did hit on the main issues raised by undecided voters in one swing state, whom The Epoch Times interviewed ahead of the debate. This is likely the one-and-only debate between Trump and Harris. What’s Next: Harris’s campaign team has called for another round in October.  Trump says he is not interested in another debate, citing what he sees as his triumph in this week’s. “Why would I do a Rematch?” he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday.  He confirmed yesterday on Truth Social: “There will be no third debate!” He previously faced Biden in a debate before Harris stepped in as the new Democratic candidate. The elections are scheduled for Nov. 5.