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PHILADELPHIA: Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump met Tuesday for their first and perhaps only debate, a square-off that could have a significant impact on the Nov. 5 election as polls show a tight contest.

Here are the takeaways from the debate:

Reeling his opponent

Harris made a point of getting under Trump's skin, as his campaign predicted.

She urged viewers to attend Trump rallies, where she said Trump would say outlandish things about windmills causing cancer (something he actually said) and where she mocked, attendees would pass out from exhaustion and boredom.

Trump, who prides himself on the crowds he draws, was visibly upset.

“My rallies, we've had the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics,” he said. He accused Harris of busing attendees at his rallies.

Trump then falsely claimed that immigrants in the country illegally were killing and eating people's pets in Springfield, Ohio, an unproven claim that spread on social media and was expanded upon by JD Vance, Trump's vice presidential running mate.

“In Springfield, they're eating dogs! The people that come in, they're eating cats!” Trump said. “They're eating people's pets that live there.”

Springfield city officials said those reports were untrue, as ABC moderators pointed out after Trump's comments.

“Talk about extreme,” Harris replied with a laugh.

Playing defense

Another goal of Harris, as a former California prosecutor, was to call out Trump for his past actions, particularly his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

An hour into the debate, his strategy seemed to be paying off. Trump was consistently on the defensive.

When asked about the January 6, 2021 siege of the US Capitol, he insisted that “he had nothing to do with it except for the fact that they asked me to make a speech.” He also lied about winning the 2020 election.

Harris used Trump's actions as an argument for turning the page on the country.

“Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people, so we can be clear about that, and obviously he's going to be very difficult to process, but we can't have a president of the United States who tried to do that in the past. Support the will of the voters in a free and fair election.” ,” Harris said.

The vice president lashed out at Trump a bit more, saying world leaders “laughed” at him and called him an insult — language that Trump himself has used at rallies in reference to how other countries view President Joe Biden.

Minutes later, Trump claimed that Harris had received “no votes” in his bid for the Democratic nomination and suggested that he was replacing Biden as part of some kind of coup.
“He hates him,” Trump said of Biden. “He can't stand it.”

The exchange may have aided Harris' argument that Trump, as she put it, lacks the “temperament” to be president.

Caste division

Deep into the debate, the long-simmering topic of race came up. Trump was asked if he had publicly questioned Harris' dual heritage as a black and South Asian woman.

“I don't care what he is,” he replied. “I read she was black. Then I read she wasn't black.

Asked to respond, Harris accused Trump of using race to divide Americans throughout his career. He cited how he and his father abandoned black tenants in the 1970s and how Trump led a public outcry against five young black and Latino men convicted of assaulting a jogger in New York City's Central Park in 1989.

More recently, he openly questioned whether President Barack Obama was a U.S. citizen, Harris said.

“I think it's sad that we have somebody who wants to be president who has tried to use race to divide the American people throughout his career,” she said.

“I think the American people want better than that,” Harris added. “We don't want a leader who is constantly trying to point fingers at each other as Americans.”

Instead of trying to defend his record, Trump turned to the economy and tried to pin Biden's economic policies on Harris. “She's trying to get away from Biden,” he said.

Harris used the attack to again pitch himself as a change agent.

“Obviously, I'm not Joe Biden, and certainly not Donald Trump,” Harris said, “and what I offer is a new generation of leadership for our country.”

Handshake

Heading into the debate, questions arose about how Harris and Trump, who have never met, would greet each other.

Harris definitely settled the issue. She walked up to Trump's podium, extended her arms and introduced herself as “Kamala Harris.”

It was disarming for Harris to meet a man who had spent weeks insulting her race and gender.

Struggling with the economy

In the opening minutes of the debate, Trump and Harris went to war over the one issue on voters' minds: the economy.

Harris detailed the economic policies he has introduced in recent weeks, including substantial tax credits for small start-ups. Trump focused his remarks on the tariffs, which he said would protect the U.S. economy from unfair foreign competition.

As the two sides sparred, Harris first spoke on a topic where she outranks Trump in terms of voter trust. She appeared to force the former president onto his back foot, and Trump essentially played defense on his strongest case.

“He doesn't have a plan,” Trump said after Harris' opening remarks. “It's like run, spot, run.”

A controversy over abortion

The two candidates also engaged in a contentious debate over abortion, an issue where polls show Harris has the upper hand.

Trump defended the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision to end constitutional protections for abortion and send the issue back to individual states, arguing, wrongly, that it was the result both Republicans and Democrats wanted. Democrats have long supported constitutional rights to abortion.

“I did a great service in doing this. It took courage to do this,” Trump said.

Trump argued that some states allow abortions for babies after birth, a point ABC News moderator Lynsey Davis corrected.

Harris drew some ire at Trump's assertion that abortion is a popular outcome of becoming a states-rights issue, citing states that have passed restrictive bans.

“Is this what the people want?” Harris asked. “Are people being denied care in the emergency room because health care providers are afraid of being taken to jail?”

Trump was asked if he would veto the federal abortion ban if it were passed by Congress. He insisted it would never happen but refused to give a definitive answer to the question.

worlds apart

One of the most heated policy discussions occurred when Trump and Harris clashed over how to handle Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The candidates' responses revealed the degree to which their views on America's role in the world differed fundamentally.

Trump refused to say he wanted Ukraine to win the war, even when ABC moderator David Muir pushed him on the point that he wanted to end the conflict as soon as possible.

Harris fired back, arguing that what Trump really wanted was Ukraine's swift and unconditional surrender.

“If Donald Trump had been president, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would be sitting in Kiev right now,” Harris said.

'Weaponized justice

In a heated exchange, Trump and Harris accused each other of conspiring to “weaponize” the Justice Department in an effort to go after their enemies.

Trump said the charges he faces for conspiracy to overturn his loss in the 2020 election and misappropriation of classified documents — as well as allegations of tampering with documents related to hush money payments to porn stars — were all the result of a conspiracy. Harris and Biden. There is no evidence for that claim.

Harris fired back by pointing out that Trump had promised to crack down on his enemies if he won a second term.

“Understand this is someone who has openly said he's going to repeal, I quote, abolish the Constitution,” Harris said.

The exchange underscored how Harris and Trump view the stakes of this election as existential. Both see their rivals as threats to democracy.