Grab your popcorn, get comfy and get ready to watch the 2024 Presidential Debate this week. Democratic Party nominee Kamala Harris and Republican Party nominee Donald Trump are scheduled to debate on Tuesday, Sept. 10th.
In Pennsylvania, Harris and Trump will take the stage on Tuesday to discuss the most prevalent topics to the 2024 Presidential Election. ABC will host the debate in Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center at 9 p.m. EDT with moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis.
The presidential debate marks an important moment in the race where both nominees stand face-to-face and discuss their views, strengths and opponent’s weaknesses, rather than through interviews and statements. With Trump surviving an assassination attempt and Harris taking the Democratic ticket after Joe Biden’s resignation, the U.S. Presidential race has truly been interesting and will make for a unique debate. This will be the first time that Harris and Trump meet in person.
Trump with bullet wound from National Catholic Reporter
Cold, Hard, Facts
With Democrats and Republicans being more divided than ever, there are a few topics that will be important to listen to during the debate. The economy is always a central issue to the United States, and Democrats and Republicans can’t seem to agree on who handles it better. While Trump claims that the economy boomed under his leadership, Harris disagrees.
Women’s rights have also been a central conversation in United States politics in recent decades, with Trump being against abortion and Harris supporting a woman’s right to choose. Another topic to listen for is the immigration argument; a notable installment during Trump’s 2016-2020 term was the Mexican-U.S. border wall, while Harris has worked toward improving Central American conditions to deter migration. Finally, an important subject of the debate will be the United States’ foreign policy, especially concerning the Israel-Palestine war.
Getting Dirty
Of course, politics isn’t all about the values that each candidate holds and their plans for improving our nation; American politicians are notorious for taking shallow jabs at each other in order to make their opponent seem weak.
Harris (right) at Howard from Washington Post
Donald Trump has made several claims about Kamala Harris that do not have any backing or are a construed portrayal of her. Trump claims that Harris “owed her political rise to sexual favors,” as The Guardian puts it. In July he also stated that Harris only became Black recently, although Harris attended Howard University, a historically Black institution. Trump, and many other Republicans, have also questioned Harris’ endorsement of Biden in his poor health all the way until his resignation in July. It will be interesting to see if Trump doubles down on these claims during the debate, if they are brought up.
Harris has several claims she could make about Trump as well. With Trump being a celebrity for many years, his history is public for anyone to see, and for his opponent to draw from during the debate. Trump has changed political parties at least five times in the past few decades, showing an inconsistency with ideals he promotes now as a Republican. He also made a claim recently that “you won’t have to vote any more,” instilling in his supporters that four years from now he will have the Presidential role guaranteed to him. Finally, Trump’s X account, @realDonaldTrump, was banned during the last few days of his presidential term due to false statements and his connection to the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol.
Jan. 6 riot from AP News
The debate this Tuesday is the biggest opportunity for the candidates to prove why each of them should be selected. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both are headstrong politicians, and they both know that this defining moment could guarantee the win.
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