Presidental Debate

By Paulina Mann

On Sept. 10, ABC hosted the highly anticipated second presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle between democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump. The first presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Trump, which took place on June 27, resulted in Biden dropping out of the race less than one month later. 

The stakes for this debate were very high for both candidates. Harris, who at the time of the debate had only been in the race for seven weeks, had a lot to prove, both with her policies and overall performance under high pressure. An astounding 67 million viewers ended up tuning in to watch the debate. 

The debate was moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis. According to the debate rules, each candidate was given two minutes to respond to a question while the other candidate’s microphone was muted. The topics covered included abortion, immigration, economics, and foreign policy, among other things. 

Although she had a bit of a slow start, when it came to her confidence and comfort level on the big stage Harris’ debate performance was very impressive. She stayed calm and professional throughout the debate, answering questions with many details. 

Trump, on the other hand, allowed himself to be baited by Harris’ claim that many people leave his rallies early due to boredom and exhaustion. Trump immediately got defensive, and responded by asserting that, “nobody is leaving our rallies,” and that “people don’t go to [Harris’] rallies, there’s no reason to go.” 

When it came to the accuracy of their claims and arguments, Harris performed much better than Trump. Through the course of the debate, despite some claims lacking context, Harris only made one false claim, whereas Trump made more than 30 false claims. Some of those false claims included those of migrants eating people’s pets and the fact that some states allow abortion after birth.

The highly watched presidential debate was a key moment in the 2024 presidential race, as it deepened the divisions between parties. As election day comes closer, only time will tell how the election will end.