All eyes will be on TV screens nationwide as Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump take center stage at a much-anticipated debate Tuesday night.
This election cycle’s second presidential debate, and the first following President Joe Biden’s departure from the top of the Democratic ticket, will be the first opportunity for the two candidates to face off against one another.
Harris will attempt to cement herself to voters who may not feel they know enough about the relatively new Democratic nominee, and Trump will try to curb his almost too-well-known antics.
Political pundits have scrutinized both candidates for their lack of specifics about implementing their proposed policy priorities. Tuesday will allow each candidate to elaborate further on these topics.
ABC News will host the debate, which, like the one between Trump and Biden — who subsequently ended his reelection bid in July — is scheduled to last 90 minutes. Procedurally, microphones will be muted to limit candidates from speaking out of turn.
According to reports, Harris’s campaign took issue with this operational decision, writing in a letter agreeing to the debate that it acts to “shield” Trump from direct exchanges with Harris. The former president has taken his fair share of jabs against Harris, particularly her race and ethnicity.
In July, when Harris took over to become the poised Democratic nominee in place of Biden, Trump said she “turned” Black. Harris is the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants. The vice president has addressed Trump’s comments, describing them as a part of his “old, tired playbook.”
In her public appearances, Harris has encouraged voters to vote for her to end what she describes as the Trump era of divisive politics. When Democratic supporters have chanted “lock him up” at past events, Harris has quelled the crowds.
In a recently released poll by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, Trump continued to lead over Harris, with 49 percent of likely voters opting to back the former president compared to 44 percent in favor of Harris. The metrics indicated a slight rise in voters for the Democratic nominee despite still trailing after Trump.
The economy, immigration, abortion, climate change and crime are among the core topics expected to be discussed on Tuesday.
Harris has campaigned strongly in support of abortion rights for all women across the country, expressing that she would attempt to codify the federal right to an abortion after the overturning of Roe V. Wade. Trump, on the other hand, favors the states’ rights to determine restrictions and access to abortions. He mentioned his intended support for in vitro fertilization after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling suspended some clinics and hospitals’ services.
The former president is a staunch advocate for oil, gas and coal producers, often simplifying his stance on the matter to the phrase “Drill, baby, drill!” during campaign rallies. He wants to provide tax breaks for these producers and roll back efforts to transition to clean energy that are a part of the Biden Administration’s Green New Deal.
Trump has touted his desire to conduct what he describes would be the largest domestic deportation in the county’s history. The former president also indicated that he would like to end birthright citizenship.
Harris has pointed to the need for immigration reform but supported bipartisan-back legislation from the last session. Although it did not pass into, it would’ve made it more difficult for immigrants to be granted asylum status, hired more immigration judges and asylum officers and increased the number of immigration agents. The bill would’ve implemented other enhanced border security-related measures.
The two candidates agree that taxes should be lifted on service industry tip-based income and that the rise of inflation needs to be tackled. However, Trump points the finger at Harris for being an extension of the current administration, which he describes as having heavily contributed to the country’s current leading financial problem.
The debate, which is taking place at the National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will air on ABC News on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
