Vice-President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump are debating one another for the first time in the U.S. presidential election campaign, with both looking to seize the critical opportunity in what polls show to be an effectively tied race.
The Democratic and Republican presidential nominees, who had previouslyĀ never met,Ā entered at the same time from opposite sides of the stage. They shook hands, with Harris offering her hand first and introducing herself by name. The first exchange focused onĀ the economy and the cost of living, one of the biggest issues of the campaign. Responding first, Harris spoke about her middle-class upbringing in California and said she wanted to create an “opportunity economy,” while saying Trump would cut taxes for the richest Americans. In his response, Trump defended his trade policy, saying that the Biden administration left his tariffs in place.Ā He saidĀ his new tariffs would be “substantial” andĀ insisted plans to cut taxes would jump-start the economy. The candidates took theĀ stage in Philadelphia at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. You can watch the livestream here on CBCNews.ca.
For Harris, 59, the debate isĀ her best opportunity to capitalize on momentumĀ she’s built in the first seven weeks of her campaign. She will be lookingĀ to define her candidacy,Ā introducing herself again to voters as a former prosecutor who understands the needs of the middle class and who could offerĀ new hope to the nation and its fractured democracy. She will also have to distance herself from some of the Biden administration’s less popular policies and presentĀ herself as a fresh leader.
For Trump, 78, the event is his best chance to try to undercut Harris’s gains ā which he’s expected to try to achieve by painting Harris as a candidate incapable of addressing voters’ concerns about crime, the economy and the border. He will likely continue his campaign messaging that has framedĀ Harris as a “failed,” “weak,” and “dangerously liberal”Ā incumbent from San Francisco who will bring Americans more of what they’ve seen from President Biden. The stakes will be high for both candidates, but experts agreeĀ it will be a bigger night for Harris because she is the lesser known commodity. In her first presidential debate and longest unscripted event so far of the campaign, she will face an audience not only listening to her policiesĀ but watching how sheĀ handlesĀ a bombastic opponent who often speaks with little regard for facts.