Immigrants Eating Pets & Childless Cat Ladies - Donald Trump, Kamala Harris' Debate Turns The Page | Highlights

With the US Elections 2024 eight weeks away, former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris engaged in a fiery debate on Tuesday. From what started with "the most awkward handshake" has now have turned a page in the race to the White House.

From Trump's claims of immigrants eating dogs, cats and pets of Americans to Taylor Swift's highly anticipated endorsement of Kamala Harris, here's a breakdown of what happened in Philadelphia during the ABC presidential debate.

The very first debate between Harris and Trump was hosted by ABC News. The 90-minute debate was held at Philadelphia’s National Constitutional Centre with anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis as the moderators.

Not only does this debate mark the first face-off between Harris and Trump, but it is also the first presidential debate to take place after Joe Biden's exit from the race.

With the 90-minute debate now over, Democrats are through the roof with Harris' performance and a major shift in the race is now visible.

Abortion, US Economy and Wars In Gaza, Ukraine | Trump-Harris Debate Highlights

Harris Baits Trump - Kamala Harris' experience as a prosecutor was made known to everyone during the debate. The VP baited Trump on his lies and fake claims made at rallies and the previous debates, and the former president seemed to have taken the bait every time. Harris left Trump visibly shaken and on the defensive after she stated that people no longer attend his rallies with the strength he had in 2016 and 2020.

Taylor Swift Endorses Harris-Walz - Following the debate, global superstar Taylor Swift issued her highly anticipated endorsement for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. As a fellow "childless cat lady" (a dig at Trump's running mate JD Vance), Swift highlighted the importance for researching your candidates and urged first time voters to register ahead of the elections.

Hours after the debate, Trump stated that Taylor Swift will "pay the price" for endorsing Harris and Walz. During an interview with Fox and Friends, the Republican candidate said - "She’s a very liberal person, she always seems to endorse a Democrat and she will probably pay the price for that in the market."

Trump Makes Claims Of Immigrants Eating Pets - It was expected that Trump would bring up immigration and border issues, and he did. At one point during the debate, Trump highlighted a conspiracy theory and passed it off as true that immigrants were crossing over into the US and "eating cats, dogs and pets of the American people".

Trump claimed that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting pets and eating them. A fact check has shown that this claim was false.

Abortion Rights And Ban - Kamala Harris reiterated that the government cannot decide what a woman should do with her body. The Vice President vowed the reinstatement of Roe v Wade to ensure the right to abortion and reproductive healthcare for all women.

Trump, however, made a similar statement as in the CNN debate and stated that he gave the states what they wanted by giving them control on abortion.

When asked if he would support a national ban on abortion just as his running mate JD Vance, the former president stated that he has "not spoken to Vance about it" and would not sign a national ban. Trump also accused Democrats of aborting babies after they have been born - which is false and amounts to murder, which is illegal across the 50 states.

During the debate, Trump also claimed that he has been a "leader for IVF and fertilization". Trump has announced plans for government mandated IVF programmes because "we want more babies" but has time and again failed to explain his plan for the same.

Gaza War - The United States has played a crucial role when it comes to Israel's war on Gaza by being its staunch ally. However, a shift in policy was seen after Biden spoke out against the mounting death toll of Palestinians.

This debate also comes after Israeli PM Netanyahu's visit to the US Congress where he stood firm by Israel's right to self defence. VP Harris also backed Tel Aviv's right to defend itself from a terror organisation such as Hamas.

However, Harris stated that "it matters how Israel defends itself as far too many Palestinians have been killed". As the war nears one year of fighting, a total of 40,000 Palestinians have been killed due to Israel's bombardment.

Moving to Donald Trump, the former US President made similar points to the CNN debate and one again said "the war would not have happened if I was the president".

"If I were president, it would have never started. If I were president, Russia would not have gone into Ukraine," stated Trump, additionally accusing Harris of "hating the Israelis and Arabs".

Ukraine War - The stance on Ukraine war began with Trump once again saying Putin would not have invaded if he was in power. The former US president also stated that he can get the war settled if he is elected as he is "good friends with Zelenskyy and Putin". Trump further said the Russia-Ukraine war poses a direct threat of escalating into World War 3 and urged Americans that as long as Biden is in power, the world will see a third world war.

Turning to Harris, the Vice President issued a stark reminder to Trump that he is running against her and not Biden. Talking of the war in Ukraine, Harris stated that American will continue to help Ukraine defend itself and rise against Putin's autocratic rule.

Harris also brought up Trump's NATO remark and stated that the former president lives for flattery and when he is not looking, leaders like Putin "will eat him for lunch".

Overall, both candidates vowed to bring an end to the war, stability across the globe and to reinstate America's position as a world leader.

Afghanistan Withdrawal - Since Trump's controversial visit to the Arlington National Cemetery, the US' withdrawal from Afghanistan hit the headlines once again. Drawing on this, Trump has blamed the Biden administration for the "worst and most embarrassing withdrawal in American history".

During the debate, Trump drew connections to US' withdrawal and the fall of Kabul to Russia's invasion of Kyiv. As per the former president, the pullout from Afghanistan showed Putin the weaker version of the United States which led him to launch a war against Ukraine in 2022.

Kamala Harris stood firm on the Biden administration's decision to pull out from Afghanistan and stated that after promises from four presidents, including Trump, Biden was the only one who brought an end to the endless war in country in 2021.

Harris further on accused Trump of surpassing the Afghan government and directly negotiating with terrorists and inviting the Taliban leaders to Camp David - a venue significant to America's role in global diplomacy.

National Security And A Peaceful Handover - Trump's 34 felony convictions and his attempts to overturn the 2020 elections were also highlighted. Harris took a dig at Trump's attempts to blame Biden and Harris for putting American security in danger and said - "I think its rich coming from someone who has been prosecuted for national security crimes, economic crimes, election interference and liable for sexual assault".

Harris further urged Americans "to move forward and turn the page for a new beginning." Trump on the other hand continued to admit that the 2020 elections were rigged and election fraud was committed.

Trump was also asked if he regrets the way the January 6 Capitol storming took place, but instead of answering the question, he pinned the blame on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

American Economy - Harris accused Trump of "leaving us with the worst unemployment since the great depression". Adding that the Biden administration is still "cleaning up his mess", the Vice President stated that she would work towards creating an "economy of opportunity".

Trump admitted that the economy has been bad due to inflation but he pinned the blame on the Biden administration for crashing the American economy.

Furthermore, Harris refuted Trump's claims of banning fracking and stated that she would work towards new leases for fracking in order to reduce the US' dependency on foreign oil.

Healthcare, Gun Control, Climate Change and More - The presidential candidates also went head-to-head on issues such as healthcare, gun control and climate change.

A surprising fact was delivered during the topic of gun control where it was revealed that both Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are gun owners. The revelation came after Trump accused Harris of "trying to confiscate everyone's gun".

Harris responded to this and said that she and her VP pick Tim Walz are both gun owners and "are not trying to take anyone's guns away", calling on Trump to stop "continuously lying".

On the topic of Climate Change, Trump didn't really answer what he would do but Harris did. The VP held the former president accountable for calling climate change a "hoax" and the disastrous withdrawal from the 2015 Paris Agreement.

On Healthcare, Harris vowed to move towards ensuring healthcare is affordable and a government-run programme for all Americans. Trump on the other hand took credit for "fixing" Obamacare and stated that he can do "much better" for healthcare.

Trump-Harris Debate - Who Won?

After the debate concluded, Trump was spotted at the spin room, interacting with media and reporters, stating that Harris wants another debate because "she lost badly". However, the sentiment across America says otherwise.

While no official winner is announced for the presidential debates, it is clear that Kamala Harris took the win for this one.

With a second debate in the works, national polls are already in favour of Harris (who was already in the lead). As per FiveThirtyEight, the Vice President has 47.1 percent support, followed by Trump at 44.4 percent.

As per a poll conducted by YouGov US, 43 percent of the people who watched the debate stated that Kamala Harris won, while 28 percent of Americans voted for Trump.

The US Presidential Elections 2024 are scheduled to be held on November 5. After Joe Biden's exit from the race and a failed assassination attempt, the match is between Kamala Harris for the Democrats and Donald Trump for the Republicans.