Harris exceeds expectations but fails to land major blow in presidential debate

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday evening held her own against former President Donald Trump during the ABC News presidential debate, successfully baiting the GOP presidential nominee at times but failing to land a critical hit.

Harris proved she could deliver lines from memory like a good actress and even put Trump on defense with the help of friendly moderators but in the end the first presidential general election debate of 2024 didn't deliver any clear knockout punches to change the trajectory of a toss-up race.

While much of the debate in Philadelphia saw the pair trade barbs over policy and the records of their respective administrations, Harris managed to shake Trump with a dig at the size of his rallies. 

"You will see during the course of his rallies, he talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter," she said. "He will talk about windmills, cause cancer. And what you will also notice is that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom."

An incensed Trump subsequently ignored a question on an immigration bill to contend that people "don't go to her rallies. There's no reason to go. And the people that do go, she's busting them in and pinning them to be there and then showing them in a different light. So she can't talk about that."

He then spent considerable time giving myriad reasons that people attend his rallies. At other points in the debate, Trump appeared to ramble somewhat or again become agitated. He often directly attacked President Joe Biden, prompting Harris to retort that it was "important to remind the former president you're not running against Joe Biden, you're running against me."

Earlier in the evening, Trump struggled to answer moderator questions about his past remarks on Harris's racial background.

"I don't care you make a big deal out of something. I couldn't care less. Whatever she wants to be is OK with me," he said. "I don't know. 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, and that's OK. Either one was OK with me. That's up to her."

Playing to Harris's advantage was the selective fact-checking of Trump by moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, who largely allowed her to speak without pushback. In one instance, they insisted that no state permitted aborting babies after birth to rebut a claim from Trump, but omitted that Minnesota, the home state of Harris running mate Tim Walz, the governor of the state, permitted children who survived botched abortions to die.

Trump managed to deliver a handful of memorable lines, including a reference to reports about Haitian illegal immigrants abducting and eating local cats and ducks in Springfield, Ohio.

"They're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame," he said.

Trump also appeared to steal Harris's line by stating "Wait a minute, I'm talking now, if you don't mind, please. Does that sound familiar?" The remark appeared to be a reference to Harris's own 2020 rebuke of then-GOP Vice President Mike Pence during their debate in which she said "I'm speaking."

In the final moments of the debate, Trump rebounded by asking the one question that Harris failed to address: if she is promising to be such a change agent why didn't she use the last 3.5 years of her vice presidency to make those changes

"She's been there for three-and-a half years," he concluded in closing statements. "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?"

Both sides were evidently satisfied with the event's progression, however. The Trump campaign declared victory, calling the former president's performance "masterful," while the Harris campaign expressed openness to a second debate.

"That was fun. Let’s do it again in October," posted Harris spokesperson Brian Fallon after the debate.

Trump as of midnight had yet to say whether he'd agree to a rematch.