presidential debate

Washington and New York. The first – and perhaps only – direct and live meeting between the vice president and Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, and the former president and Republican candidate, Donald Trump, ended up being more theater than a great debate about the future of the most powerful country on the planet. In fact, perhaps the most important news of the night was not about politics, but about the world of entertainment.

They discussed several topics, including migration, taxes, the economy, women’s rights, abortion, international politics and honesty. With 56 days to go before a race in which the two candidates remain in a technical tie in national polls, both were seeking to consolidate their bases and undermine those of their opponents, but above all to convince that segment of voters who have not decided to vote for them.

The first presidential candidate who is a convicted felon and still faces multiple trials, including one for something resembling an attempted coup, and who could be the first woman in color president, sought to define themselves before the electorate and avoid making any mistakes.

Trump, sometimes mired in his own chaotic explanations, stayed focused on his main point: immigrants are the source of almost every national problem. We have millions of people coming into this country and they are taking jobs that are held by African Americans and also Hispanics.he declared. They are destroying the country. They are dangerous and we have to expel them.. Furthermore, he even accused that in some towns, immigrants are eating pets – dogs and cats – of the citizens.

He blamed immigrants for the rise in crime in the United States, saying that other countries are “emptying their prisons… their mental asylums” and sending them here, thereby reducing crime rates in their countries, pointing to Venezuela as a case in point. He warned that if Harris wins, We will become Venezuela on steroids.

Mexico – beyond its border – appeared only once, when Trump said that China is building large automotive plants in Mexico, but that he will not allow those vehicles to be sold in the United States. We will put tariffs on those cars so they can’t come in because they would kill auto workers here.he warned.

And he accused Harris of being a dangerous leftist. She is a Marxist, her father is a professor of Marxist economics. He taught her well.he said. This is a radical left liberalhe indicated.

Abortion

Harris, for her part, took the offensive on one of the issues that could in part define the election: abortion rights. The government and Donald Trump certainly should not tell a woman what to do with her body.Harris said, adding that if Trump returns to the White House, He will ban abortion.

The debate went back and forth, largely because Trump sought to return almost constantly to the immigration issue, making it clear that this is the most effective topic for his return to the White House. He did not answer questions about how he will achieve his promise to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants, nor did he offer great details of the social welfare program, but instead repeatedly praised himself for what he believes he achieved when he was president. like no one before in history.

Harris failed to explain the changes in her political positions over the past few years, especially frackingon judicial reforms and more. While Trump tried to argue that she is only promoting the same policies failed From President Joe Biden – whom she attacked for being absent from the political scene and even for being corrupt – Harris was unable to detail any differences, although at one point she got fed up and told Trump: You’re not in a race against Biden, you’re in a race against me.

One of the most remarkable moments in a country that claims to be the beacon of democracy is that Trump, once again, refused to accept the results of the election he lost in 2020, and even refused to take responsibility for the storming of the Capitol by his supporters in an attempt to overturn the results of that election. And he even linked immigrants to the electoral problem: “our elections are bad, they are trying to get these immigrants to vote for the election.” illegal vote,” he said.

On the international front, Harris said: World leaders are laughing at Trumpwho his own former advisers and military leaders declare inept and dangerous and that “Trump is known to admire dictators… these autocrats want you to be president because they know they can manipulate you.”

For his part, Trump reiterated that it was Biden and Harris who have provoked crises everywhere, that if he were in the White House, Russia would never have invaded Ukraine and that if he is re-elected he will bring that conflict to its resolution immediately, and that the crisis in the Middle East would also have been avoided, accusing Harris of hate IsraelBoth competed to be Israel’s greatest ally and no one mentioned the number of Palestinians killed in that war.

Trump repeatedly insisted that the country was about to fall apart, while Harris concluded that she had a vision for the future and her opponent only focused on the past, and even used one of her campaign slogans: We will not go back.

The final stretch begins

How much of an impact the debate will have on who wins in November remains to be seen, but the event broadcast live to the country from Philadelphia — the birthplace of the republic — by ABC News marks the start of the final stretch of the race. More than 50 million people were expected to watch at least part of the debate. Both campaigns deployed teams to offer commentary to the media and flooded social media to find out why their candidate had won.

Harris is still struggling to define herself in the public eye. What is known about her — and what the Trump campaign emphasizes — is that she has shifted positions on a number of issues over the past few years. Harris has tried to argue that those shifts are a result of her experience as vice president over the past four years and that she seeks to represent a broad coalition of citizens, not just those in her party.

Harris managed to make the debate revolve more around Trump than about her and thus she did not have to detail her political proposals. And she also managed to make Trump angry and offer a little of her incoherence to the public.

As political observer Caitlin Johnstone commented, American democracy means you are given the choice between genocide wearing a MAGA hat and genocide waving a rainbow flag.

But perhaps the biggest political news of the night didn’t come from Philadelphia, but from an observer. Taylor Swift announced last night to her 283 million Instagram followers: I will cast my vote for Kamala Harris.

Most registered American voters who watched the televised debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump think Harris won, according to a CNN flash poll. Via Graphic News