Vice President Kamala Harris is drawing praise from media pundits and political leaders across America following her stellar performance in the highly anticipated, nationally televised presidential debate against Republican Donald Trump on September 10.
It was a defining moment for Harris, who in her first presidential debate against the more experienced Trump, asserted herself as a serious contender for the White House.
With the election less than two months away, Harris regained momentum in the tight race for the White House after she effectively articulated her stance on various issues while baiting Trump before moderators, ABC News Anchor David Muir and colleague Lindsay Davis.
The debate began with Trump appearing to reluctantly shake Harris’ hand. Harris exhibited a presidential persona as she walkedwalked across the stage and extended her hand to kick off an unforgettable night for Harris and Democrats.
In the opening question on the economy, Harris communicated her plan to boost America’s middle class by extending a $6,000 tax cut for young families. Harris also said as president she plans to give $50,000 to small business start-ups. She then said Trump plans to provide a tax cut for billionaires and big corporations, which will result in $5 trillion added to America’s deficit.
Trump, as in so many other debates and news interviews, began rambling about a number of issues. He said inflation has been a “disaster” for the middle class. Trump then repeated his false beliefs of migrants taking “Black jobs.”
He said, “And they’re coming in and they’re taking jobs that are occupied right now by African Americans and Hispanics.”
Throughout the evening, Harris to media pundits and leaders, appeared presidential in her responses and demeanor. Her performance was in sharp contrast to Trump, who oftentimes showed his age, and avoided looking at Harris as she baited and attacked him on his actions as the nation’s 45th president.
At times during the debate, Harris delivered powerful one-liners like “Trump was fired by 81 million voters,” a play on Trump’s trademark phrase he used during his reality television show “The Apprentice.”
But it was Harris’ gestures and mannerisms during the debate that sometimes spoke the loudest. Her smiles, laughs and facial expressions made Trump look like a joke who shouldn’t be taken seriously. In addition, Trump at times appeared angry, bitter and unstable.
Harris outshined Trump on the question of abortion, which she believes should be a woman’s right to choose. When pressed on whether he would support a national ban on abortion, Trump didn’t answer. And Trump refused to say whether he wants Ukraine to win its war against Russia.
At one point during the debate, Harris said in her experience as vice president, world leaders have called Trump “a disgrace.”
Harris accused Trump of coddling China during the pandemic before Trump called her a “Marxist.”
On the subject of immigration and the U.S. border, Harris said “Donald Trump left us the worst public health epidemic in a century. Donald Trump left us the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War. And what we have done is clean up Donald Trump’s mess.
“What we have done and what I intend to do is build on what we know are the aspirations and the hopes of the American people. But I’m going to tell you all, in this debate tonight, you’re going to hear from the same old, tired playbook, a bunch of lies, grievances and name-calling. 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 again.”
In response, Trump said “I have nothing to do with Project 2025. That’s out there. I haven’t read it. I don’t want to read it, purposely. I’m not going to read it. This was a group of people that got together, they came up with some ideas. I guess some good, some bad. But it makes no difference.”
During the debate, Trump was asked about his remarks toward Harris at the NABJ convention in July, where he attacked her racial identity and said she happened to “turn Black” when she began her run for the White House.
This time, Trump said “I don’t care what she is … I couldn’t care less. Whatever she wants to be is OK with me, but those were your words. I mean, all I can say is, I read where she was not Black, that she put out, and I’ll say that. And then I read that she was Black.”
In response, Harris reminded Trump of his past racist actions, including his questioning whether Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, was born in the U.S.
Harris also recalled when Trump and his father refused to rent apartments in New York to Black applicants. She also brought up Trump’s placing an ad the in The New York Times that called for the execution of five innocent Black boys, known as “The Central Park Five.”
Harris also connected Trump’s role on the January 6 Capitol insurrection to the 2017 violence in Charlottesville following a rally of white supremacists who chanted, “Jews will not replace us.” She also recalled Trump telling the Proud Boys, a white militia group, to “stand back and stand by” after refusing to condemn them during a 2020 nationally televised presidential debate against Joe Biden.
Many media pundits and leaders believe Harris won the debate easily.
CNN’s Van Jones said, “She whipped him. People have wanted someone to put this bully in his place. And people have watched contender after contender fail to put him in his place. She got up there and put him in his place. She baited him and spanked him. She spanked him. Not only did she pass the Commander in Chief test, he failed it.”
Congressman Jim Clyburn, D-SC, told The Grio that Harris’ debate performance was “remarkable.”
He said of Trump, “This guy is a reincarnation of Adolf Hitler,” adding, “This guy is racist. He’s anti-Semitic, and nobody can look at the facts and come to any other conclusion.”
During a debate night watch party in Bronzeville, Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton said, “She’s again countering the lies that Donald Trump has told about the economy. He is not telling the truth about what he did with our economy.”
Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NACCP said, “Tonight’s debate is about more than just words. It’s about action, and we need a leader who’s ready to act on Day 1. We need leadership that prioritizes justice, equity, and opportunity for ALL. Listen closely, hear where the candidates stand, and act accordingly.”
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said in a statement, “Tonight, Vice President Kamala Harris showed the country exactly why she will be elected the next President of the United States.
“Kamala Harris is a proven leader who built her career standing up for America’s working families. From strengthening the middle class to protecting individual rights and freedoms, she has repeatedly shown she has the character and vision to not just lead our country but to strengthen it. That character was on full display as she eviscerated Donald Trump, meeting his lies with truth, fear with optimism, and nonsense with real policies to help the American people.”