Kamala Harris put Donald Trump on the defensive in a heated televised debate Tuesday, getting under her opponent’s skin as they fought for a breakthrough in an agonizingly close US presidential election.
In a performance that gained her the support of pop sensation Taylor Swift, the Democrat baited the “extreme” Republican into heated comments on themes ranging from abortion to democracy and foreign policy.
The 59-year-old US vice president managed to knock former President Donald Trump off his game in their first and only arranged meeting, which featured a series of vicious personal insults on both sides.
Trump later claimed that the ABC News-hosted debate in Philadelphia was his “best debate,” yet early surveys and pundits showed Harris winning, prompting her campaign to challenge him to a second debate in October.
With less than two months until election day, Harris was under pressure to deliver in front of an audience of tens of millions following her unexpected climb to the top of the Democratic ticket in place of US President Joe Biden.
She seized the initiative by approaching Trump to shake his hand before they took to their lecterns — and then maintained the advantage.
Trump repeatedly raised his voice as he slammed the vice president on immigration and the economy, calling her a “Marxist” and blaming her for what he saw as President Joe Biden’s administration’s inadequacies.
Harris responded by looking on in amusement before declaring that she represents a fresh start after the “mess” of the Trump presidency — and saying: “We’re not going back.”
‘Bunch of lies’
One of their most heated debates was about abortion.
Trump stated that, while he had advocated for the repeal of the federal right to abortion, he wanted individual states to determine their own policies.
Harris claimed he was talking a “bunch of lies” and that his plans were “insulting to the women of America.”
Another jarring disagreement occurred when Trump reiterated his extraordinary refusal to accept losing to Biden in the 2020 election, before attempting to reverse the outcome.
Harris responded by mocking Trump’s schtick as a reality TV star, claiming that he was “fired by 81 million people” and describing him as a menace to democracy.
The former prosecutor noted that Trump is a convicted felon, described him as “extreme,” and stated that it is “a tragedy” that he has exploited “race to divide the American people” throughout his career.
The competitors also battled on foreign policy, with Harris telling Trump that Russian President Vladimir Putin would “eat you for lunch” over the war in Ukraine, and that international leaders were “laughing” at him.
Trump responded by accusing Harris of being weak on the Gaza conflict, claiming she “hated Israel”.
However, Harris, who spent five days intensively prepping for the debate, consistently managed to prick Trump with finger-jabbing accusations and meandering venom.
She elicited a heated response when she questioned the magnitude of one of his favorite issues, trademark rallies, claiming that attendees were leaving early due to “exhaustion and boredom.”