Kamala Harris took a forceful stance against Donald Trump on Tuesday in her first and perhaps only debate before the presidential election, repeatedly provoking him. At the event, which highlighted their starkly different visions for the country on abortion, immigration and American democracy, she made clear that they navigate this country very differently from those on the continent.
With less than two months to go before Election Day and hours before the first ballots are mailed in Alabama on Wednesday, the debate offered the clearest insight yet into a presidential campaign that has often been turned on its head.
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Kamala Harris gave abortion rights advocates the answer to the debate they had been longing for
When President Joe Biden made awkward remarks about abortion on the debate stage this summer, it was widely seen as a missed opportunity – or even a failure – on an crucial and motivating issue for Democrats at the ballot box.
The difference was clearly evident on Tuesday evening, when Vice President Kamala Harris vigorously defended abortion rights in the presidential debate with Republican Donald Trump.
Harris described the dire medical situation women have faced since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the nation’s right to abortion in 2022. Harris quickly blamed Trump, who re-aligned the Supreme Court with the conservative majority that made the landmark ruling during his tenure.
As a result, Harris explained to the national audience, women were denied medical care.
“You want to talk about what people wanted? Pregnant women trying to carry a pregnancy to term, having a miscarriage, being denied care in the emergency room because health care workers are afraid they’ll go to jail, and she bleeds to death in a car in the parking lot?” Harris said.
The moment was a reminder that Harris is in a unique position to speak about this volatile national issue in a way that Biden, an 81-year-old Catholic and longtime anti-abortion activist, has never felt comfortable with.
â–¶ Read more about Harris’ debate comments on abortion rights
Trump falsely accused immigrants in Ohio of kidnapping and eating pets
On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were kidnapping and eating pets, repeating in a televised debate the kind of inflammatory, anti-immigrant rhetoric he has used throughout his campaign.
There is no evidence that Haitian immigrants are committing such acts in any Ohio community, officials say. Yet during the debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump specifically mentioned Springfield, Ohio, the city at the center of the allegations, and said immigrants are taking over the city.
“They eat the dogs. They eat the cats. They eat the pets of the people who live there,” he said.
Harris called Trump “extreme” and laughed after his comment. Debate moderators pointed out that city officials had said the claims were not true.
Trump’s comments echoed claims made by his campaign team, including his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, and other Republicans. The claims gained attention this week when Vance posted on social media that his office had received “many inquiries” about Haitian migrants kidnapping pets. Vance acknowledged Tuesday that it was possible that “all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”
Officials say there are no credible or detailed reports of these allegations, even as Trump and his allies exploit them to reinforce racist stereotypes about black and brown immigrants.
â–¶ Read more about Trump’s comments on immigrants in Ohio
Addendum: Taylor Swift endorsed Harris as presidential candidate immediately after the debate
Taylor Swift, one of the biggest stars in the music industry, endorsed Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate shortly after the end of the debate on Tuesday night.
“I believe she is a calm, gifted leader and we can accomplish so much more in this country when we are led by calm, not chaos,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post that included a link to a voter registration website.
Swift has a true following among teenage women, a key demographic in the November election, and her recent tour has brought in more than $1 billion in ticket sales. Within half an hour, the post received more than 2.3 million likes.
She included a picture of herself with her cat, Benjamin Button, and signed it with the message “Childless Cat Lady.” The remark refers to three-year-old comments by JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, that women without children do not have an equal stake in the country’s future.
â–¶ Read more about Swift support
