Harris and Trump spar over policy stances in debate | Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump debate

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump showcased starkly different visions for the country Tuesday on abortion, immigration and American democracy as they met for the first time for perhaps their only debate before November’s presidential election.

The Democratic vice president tried to get under the skin of the Republican former president, provoking him with reminders about the 2020 election loss that he still denies and delivering derisive asides at his other false claims. Harris’ needling prompted Trump to launch into the sort of freewheeling personal attacks and digressions from which his advisers and supporters have tried to steer him away.

The pair outlined sharply opposite visions of where the nation is and where they intend to take it if elected. Harris promised tax cuts aimed at the middle class and said she would push to restore a federally guaranteed right to abortion overturned by the Supreme Court two years ago. Trump said his proposed tariffs would help the U.S. stop being cheated by allies on trade and said he would work to swiftly end the Russia-Ukraine war, even if it meant Ukraine didn’t achieve victory on the battlefield.

The debate, Trump’s seventh as a presidential nominee as he mounts his third run for the White House and Harris’ first, was perhaps the best opportunity by Harris to define herself on her own terms to voters. Their debate concluded hours before the first ballots of the election will begin to be mailed Wednesday in Alabama. Election Day is Nov. 5, less than two months away.

Harris’ performance by nearly every measure seemed to be the opposite of President Joe Biden’s in June, with sharp, focused answers designed to hit her talking points while needling Trump, whereas Biden at times was muddled, halting and at times incoherent. Harris used her body language and facial expressions to confront Trump and express that she found his answers ridiculous or amusing — or both — while Biden at times had a slack-jawed expression while Trump attacked him.

In one moment, Harris turned to Trump and said that as vice president, she had spoken to foreign leaders, “And they say you’re a disgrace.”

Trump in turn tried to link Harris to Biden, questioning why she hadn’t acted on her proposed ideas while serving as vice president. “Why hasn’t she done it?” he said. Trump also focused his attacks on Harris over her assignment by Biden to deal with the root causes of illegal migration.

He repeatedly dismissed her and Biden as weak, and cited the praise of Hungary’s nationalist prime minister Viktor Orbán to show that he is a widely respected by leaders around the world, saying Orbán calls him the “most feared person.”

Trump again denied his loss to Biden four years ago, when his efforts to overturn the result inspired the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.

“Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people,” Harris said, “So let’s be clear about that. And clearly he is having a very difficult time processing that.”

Saying it’s “time to turn the page,” Harris delivered an appeal to Republicans and independents turned off by Trump’s style and his efforts four years ago to overturn the 2020 presidential election, saying there’s a place in her campaign for them “to stand for country, to stand for our democracy, to stand for rule of law and to end the chaos.”

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