Republican presidential nominee, former US President Donald Trump speaks as Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris listens as they attend a presidential debate hosted by ABC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo: Reuters)
Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump met on Tuesday for their first and perhaps only televised debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia
Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris criticised Republican Donald Trump’s Abortion bans as they did not make exceptions for incest or rape. As the duo went on the offensive in the opening segment of their first presidential debate on Tuesday, Trump countered her attack asking if she’d allow abortions at 8th or ninth month.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump met on Tuesday for their first and perhaps only debate, a square-off that could have a significant impact on the November 5 election as polls show a tight race.
“In over 20 states, there are Trump abortion bans that don’t even make exceptions for incest or rape. That’s immoral. One doesn’t have to abandon their faith. I have been talking to women, some bleeding out in a car, 12 or 14-year-old survivors of incest carrying a child. They don’t want that Understand that if Trump is elected he will sign an abortion ban,” said Kamala Harris.
She said people in the United States had chosen freedom over anything else.
Trump called out Harris for lying about his stance and said, “No, I’m not in favour of an abortion ban. And it does not matter as this issue has been taken over by the states. I have not yet discussed it with my running mate JD Vance.”
Trump asked, “Will she allow abortion at 7th, 8th, and 9th months?”
He went on to say, “I am an IVF leader.”
Harris countered saying, “Couples who pray and believe in life are being denied IVF. Couples have to travel to another state to get the healthcare they need. What you are putting her through is unconscionable. Every state where this issue has been on the ballot people have voted for freedom.”
FIRST MEETING
Trump, who has spent weeks launching personal attacks on Harris that have included racist and sexist insults, largely avoided insults during the debate’s early moments. But he called her a “Marxist” as he grew increasingly agitated.
Trump’s advisers and fellow Republicans had urged him to focus on the high levels of inflation and immigration during Biden’s presidency, though both have dropped dramatically this year.
Presidential debates do not necessarily change voters’ minds, but they can transform the dynamics of a race. Biden’s poor performance against Trump in June led him to abandon his campaign on July 21.
In a contest that could again come down to tens of thousands of votes in a handful of states, even a small shift in public opinion could alter the outcome. The two candidates are effectively tied in the seven battleground states likely to decide the election, according to polling averages compiled by the New York Times.
The 90-minute debate, hosted by ABC News, was taking place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. As agreed by the campaigns, there was no live audience and candidates’ microphones were muted when it was not their turn to speak.
Harris spent days preparing in Pittsburgh, holding mock sessions on a stage with lights to recreate the debate environment.
Trump instead relied on informal chats with advisers, campaign appearances and media interviews to prepare, with former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard – who had a memorably hostile exchange with Harris in a Democratic presidential debate in 2019 – offering advice.
Read More: ‘Will She Allow It In 8th Month’: Trump Counters Harris After She Says Abortion Bans No
