Trump, Harris Spar Over Economy, Abortion in Debate

PHILADELPHIA—Former President Donald Trump responded to Vice President Kamala Harris’s claim that he would support a national abortion by calling it “a lie.”

“I’m not signing a ban, and there’s no reason to sign a ban because we’ve gotten what everybody wanted,” he said.

Reaffirming his stance that abortion is a states’ rights issue, Trump touted his role in nominating three of the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and the federal right to abortion.

PHILADELPHIA—As former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris went back and forth on abortion, ABC appeared to break its own rule about the mics being muted for those not speaking.

It’s also possible Trump’s voice carried into Harris’s mic.

PHILADELPHIA—Vice President Kamala Harris said China failed to provide transparency about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Referencing Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, Harris said, “Xi was responsible for lacking and not giving us transparency about the origins of COVID.”

While former President Donald Trump did not respond to this point in the debate, he has previously repeatedly criticized the Chinese regime for covering up the pandemic origins.

PHILADELPHIA—The Heritage Foundation’s controversial Project 2025 policy playbook was bound to come up during the debate.

Vice President Kamala Harris chose to bring it up on the first question.

“What you’re going to hear tonight is a detailed and dangerous plan called Project 2025 that the former president intends on implementing if he were elected … again,” Harris said.

PHILADELPHIA—The presidential candidates kicked off the debate by talking about the economy.

Vice President Kamala Harris asked if Americans are better off now than they were four years ago.

Harris briefly outlined some of her economic plans, including a $6,000 child tax credit and a tax deduction for small businesses.

PHILADELPHIA—Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris took the debate stage at the National Constitution Center and shook hands as Harris said, “Kamala Harris.” The two met for the first time in what will likely be the only debate ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

Trump and President Joe Biden, the prior Democratic nominee, did not shake hands when they debated in June. Biden dropped out of the race on July 27.

The first topic of the debate is the economy.

PHILADELPHIA—Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., told The Epoch Times ahead of the debate that the most important message former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris can send tonight is one of “reconciliation.”

“I would love to see a message of reconciliation, you know, an understanding that we’re all Americans and that … we can differ on these issues without … hating on each other,” Kennedy said, suggesting that the two candidates should shake hands on the debate stage.

He said he hopes Harris will pledge to the American people her commitment to democracy and freedom in the wake of rising totalitarianism in the world.

PHILADELPHIA—Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) met with reporters ahead of Tuesday night’s debate and explained what Vice President Kamala Harris needs to do to prevail in the showdown with former President Donald Trump.

“She needs to connect with the American people. She needs to talk to them about her tax policy, caring about the middle-class, not about the ultra-wealthy the way [Trump’s] policy will,” Duckworth told The Epoch Times.

“She needs to talk to them about what she will do for health care, reproductive health care, and to connect with the voters directly and not allow [Trump] to get her off of her game plan,” she said.

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PHILADELPHIA—“Contrast” was the word on every tongue in the spin room before the debate as both candidates’ surrogates shared their hopes and expectations for the night.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), there on behalf of former President Donald Trump, told The Epoch Times that Trump’s primary goal should be to “set up the contrast” between himself and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) speaks to reporters at the media filing center and spin room at the Pennsylvania Convention Center ahead of the presidential debate between Republican nominee former President Donald J. Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 10, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) speaks to reporters at the media filing center and spin room at the Pennsylvania Convention Center ahead of the presidential debate between Republican nominee former President Donald J. Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 10, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters at the media filing center and spin room at the Pennsylvania Convention Center ahead of the presidential debate between Republican nominee former President Donald J. Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 10, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters at the media filing center and spin room at the Pennsylvania Convention Center ahead of the presidential debate between Republican nominee former President Donald J. Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 10, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Energy is certain to be addressed during Tuesday’s debate, with Vice President Kamala Harris set to defend President Joe Biden’s renewable energy policies, and former President Donald Trump vowing to unplug them.

Harris campaigns as Biden’s successor in perpetuating a transition to renewable energies. She was key in getting the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the 2022 CHIPS & Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), adopted.

Harris cast the deciding vote to pass the IRA, which provides $370 billion to reduce greenhouse emissions to zero by 2050.

AdImpact, a marketing and advertising analytics firm, released data on Sept. 10 illustrating how much political ad spending has exploded since the June 27 debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Between Super Tuesday (March 5) and the June debate, Democrats spent $177.4 million on political ads, compared to $55 million spent by Republicans.

From June 28 until Sept. 10, Democrats spent a total of $508.3 million on political ads, while Republicans spent $342 million.

PHILADELPHIA—Former President Donald Trump spent the last several weeks informally preparing for tonight’s debate, according to Brian Hughes, his Florida campaign director.

Hughes told The Epoch Times that Trump is “prepared every day,” thanks to his penchant for impromptu media interviews and conversations with voters.

Nevertheless, Hughes said the former president spent “a long number of weeks” reviewing his policy successes and Vice President Kamala Harris’s record in preparation for the debate.

PHILADELPHIA—At an event outside Philadelphia earlier on Tuesday, Dave McCormick, the GOP Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, said that former President Donald Trump needs to let Vice President Kamala Harris show what she stands for.

“I think he needs to just let Kamala Harris defend a set of positions that are wildly out of step with Pennsylvania,” he told reporters in response to a question by The Epoch Times.

“You can just go and see, in her own words, what she said about banning fracking, transitioning energy workers, giving amnesty to illegal immigrants, federal benefits, mandatory buybacks of guns. These positions are just out of touch with Pennsylvania,” McCormick said.

Tuesday night’s debate is the first—and potentially the last—showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump before the election.

Broadcast at 9 p.m. ET on ABC from Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center, network anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis will moderate.

Viewers can watch the debate here.

Media filing center and spin room at the Pennsylvania Convention Center ahead of the presidential debate between Republican nominee former President Donald J. Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 10, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

Media filing center and spin room at the Pennsylvania Convention Center ahead of the presidential debate between Republican nominee former President Donald J. Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 10, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

PHILADELPHIA—Surrogates will be putting their “spin” on the debate performances of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the two major parties’ presidential candidates.

More than 900 news reporters have gathered at the Pennsylvania Convention Center about a half-mile away from the National Constitution Center where the candidates will debate without an audience.

The Harris campaign says Harris will be joined tonight by her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, her sister Maya Harris, and her brother in law Tony West.

What to Watch for in the Trump-Harris Debate

ABC News signage is installed in the media file center inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center one day before the presidential debate in Philadelphia on Sept. 9, 2024. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump head into a presidential debate virtually tied in national polling, raising the stakes for a showdown that could prove pivotal in the 2024 election.

“[The election] is really sitting on a knife’s edge on the electoral college,” Henry Olsen, a senior fellow with the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told The Epoch Times. “One point in either direction is something that could really matter.”

We asked political experts to explain what both candidates must do to perform well in this debate—and what could happen if they don’t.

Undecided Voters in Swing State Want Trump and Harris to Debate Border, Economy, Abortion

Carolyn McIntyre in Bristol, Pa., on Sept. 9, 2024. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

PHILADELPHIA—Ahead of the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, Pennsylvania’s undecided voters want the candidates to discuss the economy, border security, and abortion to help them decide how they will vote.

Trump and Harris will meet at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Sept. 10. It is the second debate of the 2024 campaign, following Trump’s face-off against President Joe Biden in Atlanta on June 27, with the latter dropping out of the race in July. The Epoch Times spoke with several voters in Pennsylvania who are not yet committed to any candidate to understand how Trump or Harris could persuade them.

Asked what issue she’d like to hear debated, Cyndi McGuinn said, “[It’s] women’s rights [to abortion], obviously. … That’s huge right now.” An undecided voter from the Philadelphia suburbs who works at a Whole Foods store, McGuinn added that foreign policy, specifically the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, would also be important.

Everything You Need to Know About the Presidential Debate

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waits to speak at a campaign rally at United Auto Workers Local 900 in Wayne, Mich., on Aug. 8, 2024. (Right) Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a rally at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St Cloud, Minn., on July 27, 2024. Andrew Harnik, Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

The long-awaited matchup between Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican nominee former President Donald Trump will air on ABC on Sept. 10, just two months before the election.

The political landscape has changed radically since the first presidential debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, which kicked off a pressure campaign that culminated in Biden bowing out of the race on July 21.

Since the first debate, Trump survived an attempt on his life, Harris rapidly rose to the top of the Democratic ticket, and both campaigns have shifted their messaging to respond to the new Democratic standard-bearer. Both candidates have also chosen their running mates.

Harris–Trump First Debate: What to Expect From Crucial Showdown

(L) Republican Presidential candidate, former president, Donald Trump speaks at II Toro E La Capra in Las Vegas, Nev., on Aug. 23, 2024. (R) Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on her policy platform in Raleigh, N.C., on Aug. 16, 2024. Ian Maule/Getty Images; Grant Baldwin/Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are set to debate for the first time on Sept. 10 in a pivotal moment that could shape the tight 2024 presidential race.

ABC will host the debate in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center. The two candidates will be standing throughout the event, which will last 90 minutes with two commercial breaks, according to the network. The debate will begin at 9 p.m. EDT.

The June CNN debate precipitated a significant turning point in the 2024 race. President Joe Biden faced mounting pressure from within his own party to step down after a poor performance. He exited the race in July and endorsed Harris.

Original News Source Link – Epoch Times

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