On September 10th, 9 PM EST, the Second Presidential Debate between Fmr. President and Republican Nominee Donald J. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris was held in Philadelphia. Less than a month ago, Vice President Kamala Harris was selected as the Democratic nominee following a debate performance by President Biden that led to him dropping out of the election.  The Trump vs. Harris debate was agreed to take place on ABC News.  In negotiating the debate, Harris’ campaign said they would not do FOX News opting for a more favorable network as well as notes and sitting down.  President Trump later posted on Truth Social, after the debate, saying that it would be the last one of the 2024 Presidential Election.

The debate, held in battleground Pennsylvania, was moderated by ABC’s David Muir and Linsey Davis (a sorority sister of Harris’).  The topics included questions on the economy, illegal immigration and border security, abortion, gun rights, Israel-Hamas, Russia-Ukraine, handling of the COVID crisis, as well as character.

Throughout the debate, Fmr. President Trump emphasized that Kamala Harris is the incumbent Vice President, emphasizing “she’s had three years to do it.” He pressed her on the border, and on her previously stated policy positions such as fracking (a method used to extract natural gas and oil from deep within the Earth’s surface) – an issue very important to Pennsylvanians, as well as Afghanistan. Vice President Harris’ assertions of President Trump frequently mentioned Project 2025 calling it “Trump’s Project 2025,” Roe v. Wade, Jan. 6th, and the fact-checked false story that Trump called Nazis and white supremacists “very fine people.”

The Presidential Candidates sparred on policy, with President Trump saying that VP Harris has no policy positions on her campaign website besides the one she copied from him like the child tax credit for families and the ‘No Tax On Tips’ policy – both of which President Trump introduced months ahead of his opponent.  President Trump went further, blasting Vice President Harris on the economy.

“She doesn’t have a plan. She copied Biden’s plan, and it’s like four sentences… four sentences that are just, ‘Oh, we’ll try and lower taxes.’ She doesn’t have a plan,” Fmr. President Trump said.

“Look, I went to the Wharton School of Finance and many of those professors, the top professors, think my plan is a brilliant plan, it’s a great plan,” President Trump said arguing for a return of his economic policy, “It’s a plan that’s going to bring up our worth, our value as a country. It’s going to make people want to be able to go and work and create jobs and create a lot of good, solid money for our — for our country.”

Vice President Harris responded during the debate unveiling parts of her plan. VP Harris’ economic plan includes a larger child tax credit than the Trump campaign proposed, as well as supporting raising corporate taxes from 21% to 28%, and raising taxes on individuals making more than $1 million a year with a 28% rate according to the Washington Post.

“I intend on extending a tax cut for those families of $6,000, which is the largest child tax credit that we have given in a long time”, Vice President Harris said, “I love our small businesses. My plan is to give a $50,000 tax deduction to start-up small businesses, knowing they are part of the backbone of America’s economy.”

Additionally, part of Vice President Harris’ debate strategy focused on tying her opponent with the more radical part of his party.

“I’m going to tell you on this debate tonight, you’re going to hear from the same old tired playbook, a bunch of lies, grievances and name calling,” Vice President Harris asserted, “What you’re going to hear tonight is a detailed and dangerous plan called Project 2025 that the former president intends on implementing if he were elected to again.”

Additionally, VP Harris claimed President Trump’s tax cuts would be detrimental for the US economy, that he is opposed to IVF, as well as that extreme abortion bans are a result of his Presidency.  However, President Trump has said at a rally weeks ago in Michigan, that he would have the US Government pay for IVF treatments for families and has said he’s in favor of it.  Additionally, President Trump defended the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule Roe v. Wade and return the power to the people via the states.

“What I did is something — for 52 years they’ve been trying to get Roe v. Wade into the states. And through the genius and heart and strength of six Supreme Court justices, we were able to do that,” President Trump stated, “Now I believe in the exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. I believe strongly in it, Ronald Reagan did also and 85 percent of Republicans do too, exceptions, very important, but we were able to get it and now states are voting on it.”

Additionally, President Trump said that “every legal scholar, every Democrat, every Republican, liberal, conservative, they all wanted this issue to be brought back to the states where the people could vote.”  According to PBS News, President Trump’s claim was false, evidenced by the numerous legal scholars who submitted amicus curiae briefs to the Supreme Court arguing against overturning Roe v. Wade.

Moderator Linsey Davis gave one particular question to Vice President Harris asking, “Vice President Harris, in your last run for President, you said you wanted to ban fracking – now you don’t, you wanted mandatory government buy-back programs for assault weapons – now your campaign says you don’t, you supported decriminalizing border crossings – now you’re taking a harder line. I know you say your values have not changed, so then why have so many of your policy positions changed?”

Vice President Harris responded saying she’s never been opposed to fracking, that she’s been tough on the border since day one, and that her values have not changed.

A notable moment ensued with President Trump mixing up West Virginia with Virginia in reference to a Fmr. Governor’s remarks on post-birth abortion, as well as President Trump remarking about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio that, “they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there”, which was heavily criticized as the City Manager and the Mayor have denied such happenings while the incidents remain unverified.

The debate concluded with VP Harris giving her closing statement first, and Fmr. President Trump closing the debate with his final statement. 

“So I think you heard tonight, two very different visions for our country.  One that is focused on the future and the other that is focused on the past, then attempt to take us backward. But we are not going back and I do believe that the American people know we all have so much more in common than what separates us and we can chart a new way forward.” Vice President Harris said, “and a vision of that includes having a plan, understanding the aspirations, the dreams, the hopes, the ambition of the American people (…).”

President Trump’s closing statement presented his differing case to the American people.

“So she just started by saying she’s gonna do this, she’s gonna do that, she’s gonna do all these wonderful things, why hasn’t she done it.  She’s been there for three and a half years, they’ve had three and a half years to fix the border, they’ve had three and a half years to create jobs and all the things we talked about.  Why hasn’t she done it?  She should leave right now go down to that beautiful White House, go to the Capitol, get everyone together and do the things you wanna do, but you haven’t done it and you won’t do it because you believe in things the American people don’t believe in, you believe in things like ‘we’re not gonna frack’, ‘we’re not gonna take fossil fuel’… things that are going to make this country strong whether you like it or not.” President Trump asserted, “Why hasn’t she done it already?”

With the election two months away, it’s unlikely that this debate resulted in a clear knockout but regardless, the American people will decide whose vision they want for this country.