What in the Femininominon?! Did Harris Make Her Debut? An overlook of the Presidential Debate

 The night of September 10, 2024, a night many anticipated, was the first presidential debate between Donald J. Trump and Kamala D. Harris. Although this night should have answered many of the questions voters prioritized, it turned into disarray leaving many confused and uncertain but above all entertained. 

NBC’s Debate Rules

     The debate, held by ABC News, featured many regulations to ensure an informative and reputable debate. The rules released by ABC news stated that there would be no live audience nor any opening statements from the candidates. Each candidate would have two minutes for answering questions, another two minutes for rebuttals and one additional minute for follow-ups and clarifications. They would also have two minutes to give closing statements at the end. Only the moderators are allowed to ask questions, not the candidates. After much discussion among campaigns it was decided that the candidates' microphones would be muted unless they were called upon. 

Views and Opinions of the Candidates Prior to the Debate 

Before the debate both candidates and their campaigns have been holding rallies and sharing their views and opinions on the country's most pressing issues. On the issue of abortion Ms.Harris supports legislation that would protect the right to abortion nationally as it is a focal point of her campaign, she has continually supported abortion/reproductive rights since her time in the Senate. Mr. Trump however has since taken credit for the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade and claims that it now allows the issue to be left up to the voters in the states. Since then he has not expressed any move to back a federal abortion ban as many Republicans have been pushing for.  On the topic of economic policy Ms.Harris has supported the Biden administration’s economic policies like the infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act. She also proposed legislation that would provide tax credit for middle- and low-income families to address income inequality. Mr. Trump on the other hand promised to pay off national debt, prioritizing tax cuts favoring the wealthy and tariffs on imported goods/ a tax on domestic consumers. On the concern of immigration Ms.Harris wants to understand the root cause of the migration, like poverty and violence in the migrants’ home countries. She also endorsed a bipartisan border security deal from Mr.Biden, the legislation would have closed off the border if  crossings reached a certain limit and would have funded new border security and asylum officers. Mr.Trump has vowed to stop birthright citizenship for children of immigrants, deputize the National Guard for mass deportations and deny legal immigrants entry based on their beliefs. On the war in Israel and Gaza Ms.Harris supports a two-state solution to the matter, she called for a cease-fire in March and has expressed her opposition towards an Israeli invasion of Rafah. Mr. Trump however has supported Israel in their attack on Hamas. Both candidates have vastly different views and opinions on different issues voters prioritize when deciding the candidate for them. 

Lies Spread During the Debate

 Throughout the presidential debate, many claims were made to help better each side. These claims were used to spread misinformation while providing a false narrative about others. Hence  why it is important to fact check, as it'll help provide a clearer perspective helping future and current voters decide on who they will vote for. After fact checking the debate, these are the lies that we've found. Number one, Trump made a claim that Harris wants to revoke and confiscate guns from gun owners. This has been proven false as previous tweets from Harris show her advocating for gun rights. She believes that people that sell guns should be background checked to help prevent unlawful acts. Another claim made by Trump was that he “saved” Obamacare. This is false as during his presidency, he tried to remove the Affordable Care Act. An additional claim that was made by Trump states “We have to have borders, and we have to have good elections. Our elections are bad. And a lot of these illegal immigrants coming in, they’re trying to get them to vote. They can’t even speak English. They don’t even know what country they’re in, practically. And these people are trying to get them to vote, and that’s why they’re allowing them to come into our country.” This is false. Non-citizens have no way of voting as it’s unlawful. The most popular lie that paved the way for presidential debate memes was, “They’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating - they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country.”  BBC verified this plausible deception by speaking to the SCC (Springfield City Commission) about the claims made. Officials told BBC: “There have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.” Thus showing how that claim may not be truthful. Vice President Harris has also made some false claims during the debate, one of them being, “Donald Trump left us the worst unemployment since the Great Depression.” This is false. As stated by PBS news’ article “Fact-checking the Harris-Trump debate”, “Trump was in office then. But he didn’t “leave” Biden or Harris with a post-Depression record unemployment rate. By December 2020, the unemployment rate had fallen back to 6.4%, which was high for recent history but well below numerous spikes during recessions.” Thus proving that she exaggerated heavily when saying that Trump made unemployment worse.

The Debates Impact on Voters Opinions

 After the debate, many people had mixed feelings on who truly “won” the debate. Many false claims were made making voters feel unsure on who to vote for. As Ms. Reed stated, “It was all disappointing.” Many felt as though the debate was more of a joke than a formal and insightful event. This begs the question, based on that debate, who will win the election? As stated by an article made by CNN writer Ariel L., “63% of registered voters who watched Tuesday's debate say Harris outperformed Trump Prior to the debate, those voters were evenly split on who would do a better job” Does this mean that she won the election? Not at all, BUT it does provide a little insight on who voters believe will win this election.

 Media's take on the Debate

This presidential debate allowed for online media to flourish exponentially. Many memes were made after the debate due to its many laughable moments. One of the most popular ones being Donald Trump’s quote, “They’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating - they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country.” This quote, taken from the debate, has been made into a remix on TikTok showcasing people’s amusement by Trump’s claims. People are creating dances to the remix showing little to none expressions to the allegations. People are also showcasing their cats to the songs to get the cat’s “reaction” to the audio. Another meme circulating around TikTok is when Donald Trump says, “I have concepts of a plan.” People are using this quote for relatable situations in people’s everyday life. For example a user on TikTok made a video writing ”when you’re supposed to figure out what to order for dinner” while using the audio quoted from Trump. Thus demonstrating how people do not use the quote for what it was meant for, but rather to make a joke out of it.