
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump went head-to-head in their first debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, last night. The ABC-hosted event was the second presidential debate of the 2024 election season but marked the first—and only scheduled—in-person encounter between the two presidential hopefuls following President Joe Biden's exit from the race.
The roughly 90-minute debate—moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis—featured back-and-forth exchanges on issues, including the economy, abortion, immigration, and foreign policy (see takeaways). Trump and Harris also took jabs at each other; Trump criticized Harris for changing her stance on issues like fracking and joked he wanted to send her a "Make America Great Again" hat for her policy positions, while Harris commented on Trump's legal battles and criticized his rallies. The moderators appeared to only fact-check Trump, including when he falsely claimed immigrants were eating their neighbors' pets in Springfield, Ohio. Rewatch the debate here.
With eight weeks until Election Day, Harris is ahead of Trump by roughly one percentage point (see polling data). Next up is a CBS-hosted vice presidential debate between Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Ohio Sen. JD Vance (R), who will face off in New York City Oct. 1.
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