The ABC News presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump was a high-stakes event. Considering the impact of the previous Biden-Trump debate, the pressure was on in a crucial test for Democratic nominee Harris. By most accounts, the VP took the fight to Trump and emerged victorious in a performance so dominant that one Republican strategist predicted that “[Trump] loses because of this debate performance.”
Background: The Last Debate
The build-up for this debate was immense, knowing it could be a make-or-break performance, as with the previous debate on June 27th.
Whether bad preparation or due to harbouring a cold, Joe Biden performed disastrously, falling short of already low expectations. Mumbling and meandering through, Trump was conclusively declared the winner, with Ipsos polling finding 60% believed Trump won to just 21% for Biden. The incumbent was already facing an uphill battle as unfavourable polling put his opponent as the favourite going into the debate.
For a man already facing questions over his age and mental state, the 81-year-old’s performance was an unmitigated disaster. Politico labelled it “The Worst Debate Performance in American History.”
His prospects were further harmed by a number of public verbal blunders such as calling President Zelenskyy “President Putin” and calling Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump.” Moreover, the assassination attempt on Donald Trump further roadblocked Biden’s re-election chances.
Just days after the chaotic debate, the first Democratic Congressmen started to call for the elderly statesman to step aside.
Over the next month, Biden faced both public and private pressure to step down.
In private, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi is said to have led efforts to oust Biden whilst Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and even former President Barack Obama were said to have backed such a move.
Whilst some, such as high-profile Representative Jamie Raskin, called for Biden to step down privately, others were more public. Conservative Democrat-turned-Independent Joe Manchin and Senator Sherrod Brown both expressed discontent whilst Representative and Senatorial candidate Adam Schiff’s call for Biden to “pass the torch” seemed to be a turning point and marked the 20th elected Congressman to do so.
As well as polls showing the majority of Democrats thought it was time to boot out Biden, big fundraisers and donors such as George Clooney wrote for The New York Times that it was time to go. Obama reportedly knew of the article but did not object.
Finally, on July 21st and as a direct result of the debate performance, Biden resigned. It made him the first president to not attempt to serve another eligible term since 1968 and the first ever to resign after winning the primary stage.
Kamala Cleans Up
Kamala asserted herself early, being the one to go over and offer her hand to Trump in a subtle piece of powerplay. Her dominance was proven throughout the debate with Harris maintaining eye contact whilst Trump more or less talked straight to the moderators.
Harris repeatedly successfully baited Trump, using the strategy of trying to ruffle and frustrate Trump. This included lines about the size of his rallies, multiple bankruptcies, and the way other world leaders mock him. In one line, she referred to how Trump was “fired by 81 million people.”
She tried to further frame Trump as an extremist, pointing to January 6th and Project 2025.
This worked to loosen Trump’s grip on topics that may otherwise have been stronger suits for him such as the economy and immigration.
Trump meanwhile was repetitive, with few points of attack. It was though he would much prefer have debated Biden, whom he seemed more willing to attack than Harris.
Regrettable Lines Of The Night
From Gerald Ford’s denial of Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe to Michael Dukakis’s overly-calmed demeanor to a question about the death penalty to Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women”, presidential debates have a history of producing infamous lines.
These are five ill-advised Trump quotes that could define the next two months of the election campaign.
“In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people that came in, they are eating the cats. They’re eating – they are eating the pets of the people that live there.”
This quote refers to a baseless conspiracy theory developed in recent weeks about immigrants, particularly Haitians, who are killing and eating animals in Ohio.
Perhaps the most headline-grabbing line of the entire night, it not only undercut any credibility Trump may have had on the border but also made him look and sound utterly unhinged. Harris reacted with exasperation and laughter at the line to highlight her opponent’s crazed utterances.
It was noted how no credible reports have indicated that any animals have been killed and eaten.
Almost certainly set to feature heavy in Kamala ads, it only plays into Democrats’s claims of Republicans being “weird.”
“I have concepts of a plan.”
Trump used this troubling line when asked about his healthcare plan.
During his presidency, healthcare was a major weakness for Trump, who even with Republicans controlling the Senate, failed to repeal Obamacare – one of his central pledges.
A clunkily worded response laying bear his unpreparedness and ambiguity, it puts into question Trump’s plans for one of the most important issues to many millions of Americans. Kamala may have difficulty explaining switching her positions – but at least she has some.
Some social media users have jokingly compared the quote to the stylings of untrustworthy, incompetent Simpsons lawyer Lionel Hutz.
“…Execution after birth, it’s execution, no longer abortion because the baby is born.”
This is a line Trump has reiterated repeatedly: that liberals, such as Tim Walz, support abortions after birth, killing the baby after it has been born.
Ever since Trump’s goal of overturning Roe v. Wade was accomplished in 2022, Trump has walked a fine line on his abortion stance. Whilst he has praised the decision, he has numerously said he would not impose a national abortion ban and just weeks ago criticised the Ron DeSantis-supported six-week abortion law in Florida. Instead, he has boasted how he returned the matter to the states to make their own decisions.
His claim of execution after the baby’s birth was one fact-checked by the ABC moderators, noting how no state allowed infanticide.
It served to both show Trump’s lies whilst reminding voters of Trump’s role in ending the Roe ruling – an electorally unpopular decision.
Q: “Do you want Ukraine to win this war?”
A: “I want this war to stop.”
Another issue voters might be hesitant about is Trump’s attitude to Ukraine.
Having long praised Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Trump has called for stopping funding to Ukraine, believing the US is gifting the nation too much money in its defence against an invading Russia. Indeed, Trump praised Russia’s invasion as “genius” in February 2022.
Plus, his running mate JD Vance has previously remarked: “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine.”
Such a stance feeds into claims Trump is in bed with authoritarian dictators – and perhaps plans to be one himself – and is willing to obliterate US aid for the nation. Recent polling from YouGov suggests 53% of Americans support aid to Ukraine and also that 37% of Republicans want to stay the course, showing this dismissive ambivalence may be misplaced compared to the views of the electorate.
“I read where she was not black…then I read she was black.”
One of the voting blocs Trump has honed in on is African-Americans.
A dependable Democratic-supporting group, Pew notes how 92% of black voters backed Joe Biden last election. Since then, Trump has posted fake AI images alongside blacks, boasted his relatability to this democratic due to his criminal indictments, and said he has done the most for African-Americans “since Abraham Lincoln.”
At the debate, he leaned into a line he had controversially used at an audience in front of the National Association of Black Journalists, where he remarked that Harris “all of a sudden…made a turn,” and “happened to turn black.” The comment was met with jeers as Trump did not dispute Republican claims she was a “DEI hire.”
Although hoping to win over black voters, it may backfire as his comments have been seen as racist and bigoted. Kamala, who is of Indian and Jamaican ancestry, may wish to highlight this, amongst other lines, to further consolidate minority support and expose Trump for his attacks on her identity.
Political Reactions
Who each person thought won can be summed up by their reactions.
Trump would call ABC News’s moderation “rigged” and commented that he would not compete in a second debate with Harris. Meanwhile, the Harris campaign thought it went well enough to post the entirety of the debate on its page as an ad.
Republicans, both Trump supporters and critics, stated it was a bad night for Trump.
Trump ally Lindsay Graham reportedly referred to the events as a “disaster”, whilst supporter Robert F. Kennedy stated that “Vice President Harris clearly won the debate in terms of her delivery, polish, organisation, and preparation.”
One anonymous House GOP lawmaker did not mince his words, calling Trump’s performance a “dumpster fire” and “one of the worst bloodletting I’ve ever seen.” They continued, “standing next to Kamala Harris, he looks old. He didn’t look old against Biden…and that, you can’t fix.”
Mitt Romney, who debated incumbent President Obama in 2012, called her in the aftermath “an intelligent, capable person who has a point of view on issues.” Chris Christie, who helped Trump prior to his 2016 debates, noted Harris was “exquisitely well-prepared” and “proved that she belonged on that stage.”
What The People Think
67 million Americans viewed the debate, over 15 million more than the Biden-Trump debate, with all credible polls showing a win for the Vice President.
Much has been made of a snap CNN poll which showed those asked believed Harris won 63% to 37%, a 26-point lead. A separate Ipsos poll showed Harris had won 53%-24%.
More concentrated pools showed similar outcomes. A Fox News Digital panel gave Harris the win 12-5 whilst a Washington Post poll of swing voters showed Kamala being triumphant, crushing Trump to win 23-2.
Needless to say, her performance outstretched that of Biden’s. After the June debate, a New York Times panel ranked the performances, with zero saying Biden won and 10 saying Trump one – five of which said Trump won convincingly. This time, Harris won 13-1.
Perhaps the best indication of Harris’s performance was the world-shaking Instagram post that came after it when Taylor Swift endorsed Harris-Walz. It led to 300,000 voter registrations within the first 24 hours and, as of writing, it has well over 10 million likes.
GRIFFIN KAYE.
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