Donald Trump and Kamala Harris faced each other on the debate stage Tuesday night for the first — and possibly the last — time.
The Democratic vice president opened the faceoff with a power move, marching across the stage to Trump’s lectern to shake his hand.
“Kamala Harris,” she said, introducing herself as the pair met for the first time ever. “Let’s have a good debate.”
“Nice to see you. Have fun,” the former Republican president responded.
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The exchange set the tone for the 90-minute debate to come: Harris controlled the conversation at times, baiting Trump with jabs at his economic policy, his refusal to concede his 2020 election loss and even his performance at his rallies.
Trump, while measured early on, grew more annoyed as the night went on. And one significant moment played out after the two candidates left the stage, when one music superstar announced on Instagram she'll vote for Harris.
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Here's look at the issues discussed and takeaways from Tuesday's debate.
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Fact checks on the economy, inflation
The debate opened with an unexpectedly wonky exchange on the economy: Harris took on Trump for his plan to put in place sweeping tariffs and for the trade deficit he ran as president; Trump slammed Harris for inflation that he incorrectly said was the worst in the country’s history.
Trump said people look back on his presidency’s economy fondly. “I created one of the greatest economies in the history of our country,” he said. Harris flatly told viewers, “Donald Trump has no plan for you.”
Americans are slightly more likely to trust Trump over Harris when it comes to handling the economy, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs poll from August.
A fact check by The Associated Press noted Trump's statement about the economy was an exaggeration. The economy grew much faster under Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan than it did under Trump. The broadest measure of economic growth, gross domestic product, rose 4% a year for four straight years under Clinton. The fastest growth under Trump was 3% in 2018. The economy shrank 2.2% in 2020, at the end of Trump’s presidency. And a higher proportion of American adults had jobs under Clinton than under Trump. During the Biden-Harris administration, the economy expanded 5.8% in 2021, though much of that reflected a bounce-back from COVID.
Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 after rising steadily in the first 17 months of Biden’s presidency from a low of 0.1% in May 2020. It’s now seeing a downward trend. The most recent data shows that as of July it had fallen to 2.9%. Other historical periods have seen higher inflation, which hit more than 14% in 1980, according to the Federal Reserve.
During the debate, Harris said economists including the The Wharton School has said that Trump's plan would "explode the deficit.
The Penn-Wharton Budget Model did find that Trump’s tax and spending plans would significantly expand the deficit by $5.8 trillion over ten years. But it also found that Harris’ plans would increase the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the same period.
Harris gets under Trump's skin
In her first answer, the former prosecutor said Trump’s tariffs would effectively create a sales tax on the middle class. She soon accused Trump of presiding over the worst attack on American democracy since the Civil War — the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. She charged him with telling women what they could do with their bodies. And she mocked Trump’s praise of dictators “who would eat you for lunch.”
Harris effectively controlled much of the conversation with such attacks and baited Trump into responses that were at times vents, and at others, reminders of his wild rhetoric and fixation on the past.
“You did in fact lose that election,” Harris said of the 2020 race that Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden but still insists he won. “Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people,” she said, referring to Biden’s winning vote total.
But Harris may have got under her opponent’s skin the most when she went after his performance at his rallies, noting that people often leave early.
Growing visibly irritated, Trump insisted that his rallies were larger than hers.
A smiling Harris frequently shifted her message from Trump back to the American people.
“You will not hear him talk about your needs, your dreams and your needs and your desires,” Harris said. “And I’ll tell you, I believe you deserve a president who actually puts you first.”
What Trump said about immigration
Trump was often on defense, but he did drive the core message of his campaign: Inflation and immigration are hammering Americans.
Immigrants, Trump said, have “destroyed the fabric of our country.”
He repeatedly tied Harris to Biden.
“She is Biden,” he said.
Trump also made numerous false claims about migrants.
"When you look at these millions and millions of people that are pouring into our country monthly — whereas, I believe, 21 million people, not the 15 people say, and I think it’s a lot higher than the 21 — that’s bigger than New York State ... and just look at what they’re doing to our country," he said. "They’re criminals, many of these people are criminals, and that’s bad for our economy too.”
There have been high-profile, heinous crimes committed by immigrants. But FBI statistics do not separate out crimes by the immigration status of the assailant, nor is there any evidence of a spike in crime perpetrated by migrants. In 1931, the Wickersham Commission did not find any evidence supporting a connection between immigration and increased crime, and many studies since then have reached similar conclusions.
The Border Patrol made 56,408 arrests of people crossing the border illegally from Mexico in July, the latest monthly figure available. Since Biden took office, the Border Patrol made about 7.1 million border arrests, though the number of people is considerably lower because many of those arrests were repeat crossers.
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The Biden administration also permitted legal entry for about 765,000 people on an online app called CBP One at land crossings in Mexico through July. It allowed another 520,000 from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to come by air with financial sponsors. Additionally, an unknown number of people crossed the border illegally and eluded capture.
As the former president continued his claims false claims about migrants, Harris seemed to smirk as he said that migrants are “taking jobs that are occupied right now by African Americans and Hispanics.”
“Talk about extreme,” Harris responded, when Trump repeated unsubstantiated claims that immigrants in Ohio are eating their neighbors’ dogs and cats.
Trump on race
ABC moderator David Muir asked Trump point-blank about his allegation while speaking at a National Association of Black Journalists event in Chicago last month that Harris had belatedly “ turned Black.” Harris is Black and South Asian and a graduate of Howard University, a historically Black school in Washington.
Trump tried to play down the matter. “I don’t care what she is, you make a big deal out of something, I couldn’t care less,” Trump said.
Harris, however, had her opening and she rattled off a long list of Trump’s racial controversies: his legal settlement for discrimination against prospective Black tenants at his New York apartment buildings in the 1970s; his ad calling for the execution of Black and Latino teenagers — who were wrongly arrested — in the Central Park jogger case in the 1980s; and his false claims that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
“I think the American people want something better than that, want better than this,” Harris said.
Trump accused Harris of trying to “divide” people and dismissed her claims as dated and irrelevant.
“This is a person that has to stretch back 40, 50 years ago because there’s nothing now,” he said.
Harris, Trump dig in on abortion positions
Harris came out swinging in defense of abortion rights, perhaps the strongest issue for Democrats since Trump’s nominees created a Supreme Court majority to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion. Her sharp arguments provided a vivid contrast to President Joe Biden’s rambling comments on the issue during his June debate with Trump.
“The government, and Donald Trump, certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” Harris said. She painted a vivid picture of women facing medical complications, gut-wrenching decisions and the need to travel out of state for an abortion.
Trump was just as fierce in defense, saying he returned the issue to the states, an outcome he said many Americans wanted. He struggled with accuracy, however, repeating the false claim that Democrats support abortion even after babies are born. He stuck to that even after he was corrected by moderator Linsey Davis.
“I did a great service in doing that. It took courage to do it,” Trump said of the overturning of Roe v. Wade and its constitutional protections for abortion. “And the Supreme Court had great courage in doing it. And I give tremendous credit to those six justices.”
Polls has shown significant opposition to overturning Roe and voters have punished Republicans in recent elections for it.
Trump also said that Tim Walz, Harris' vice presidential pick, said abortion in the ninth month "is absolutely fine."
"He also says execution after birth, it’s execution, no longer abortion, because the baby is born, is okay," Trump continued.
Walz has said no such thing. Infanticide is criminalized in every state, and no state has passed a law that allows killing a baby after birth.
Trump says it was his 'best debate ever'
"People are saying BIG WIN tonight!” Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media site. He also complained about the moderators.
“I thought that was my best Debate, EVER, especially since it was THREE ON ONE!”
But will there be another one?
It had been anticipated that Tuesday night’s debate might be the only meet-up for Harris and Trump. The Democratic nominee says she’s “ready” for another one.
In a statement put out immediately following the debate’s conclusion, Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said the Democrat “commanded” the stage and “is ready for a second debate.”
“Is Donald Trump?” O’Malley Dillon asked.
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on a possible second meeting. Trump initially balked at the arrangements surrounding the ABC News debate, saying he had made the agreement with Biden before the president ended his reelection bid.
In the spin room shortly after the debate, Trump wouldn’t commit to the rematch the Harris’ campaign has already offered, saying, “I have to think about it” and he might do it “if it was on a fair network.”
“The reason you do a second debate is if you lose, and they lost,” he told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “But I’ll think about it.
He told Hannity he “thought it was a great debate” and came to the spin room because “I just felt I wanted to.”
“I was very happy with the result,” he said. “I just felt we had a great night and I’d come over here.”
Taylor Swift makes big endorsement
One of the most consequential moments came in a post on one of the most followed accounts on Instagram moments after the debate ended.
Minutes afterwards, pop star Taylor Swift shared a lengthy Instagram post saying she will be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
She signed the post "Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady," in reference to resurfaced JD Vance's statements that have become a rallying cry among some women voters, and shared a photo of her with one of her well-known cats.
Swift's political leanings have been the subject of speculation for weeks, heightened after former President Donald Trump re-shared a fake AI image to his Truth Social account suggesting he had her support.
Swift previously gave her support to President Joe Biden and Harris during the 2020 presidential race.
