“It gave me more confidence”: Presidential debate sees Harris emerge victorious
Photo Collage by Emily Paris, Photo Editor
On Tuesday night, nearly 70 million Americans watched the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Moderated by ABC with some live fact-checking, the debate covered a wide range of subjects: the state of the economy, abortion rights, immigration, the Jan. 6 riot, the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, race relations and climate change.
The night saw several memorable moments, the first of which came when ABC anchors fact-checked a baseless claim by Trump that some states allow for babies to be executed after birth. As stated by ABC anchor and moderator Linsey Davis, “There is no state in this country in which it is legal to kill a baby after it is born.” That was followed by Harris’ rebuttal, in which she hammered down on Trump for the effects of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, as well as his claims that every legal scholar, as well as both Democrats and Republicans, wanted abortion to be decided on by states.
The high point of the night came during questions on immigration. Harris spoke first, beginning by criticizing Trump for lobbying Republican congress members to kill a bipartisan bill on border security in February earlier this year. She then launched into her most famous attack of the night, telling viewers to go to Trump’s rallies and claiming that many of his rally attendees leave early due to boredom and exhaustion over his rambling on topics like Hannibal Lecter.
“The debate seemed to take a turn when Harris brought up the issue of crowd sizes at Trump’s rallies,” said John Compton, Chapman’s political science chair. “Trump took the bait, launched into a rambling monologue about crowd sizes, illegal immigration and refugees allegedly eating pets. Prior to that point, I felt that Trump was fairly disciplined and on-message,”
From there, Trump seemed to lose focus on policy, splitting his time between playing defense against Harris and eschewing further conspiracies in an ever-escalating tone. Perhaps the most famous sound bite of the night came when he was pressed on whether he had a plan to modify or replace the Affordable Care Act, to which he responded, “I have concepts of a plan.”
Other notable moments were Harris saying she and her running mate Tim Walz are firearm owners, Trump refusing to endorse a Ukrainian victory in the Russo-Ukraine war, Harris and Trump trading blows over the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal and Trump reaffirming long-disproven claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election while skirting responsibility for the Jan. 6 riots. Notably, neither candidate was able to lay out a clear and cohesive plan to advance a ceasefire for the Israeli invasion of Gaza, an issue that has struck a chord with both young voters and a heavy Arab-American population in the state of Michigan.
Altogether, the night came off as a strong showing for Harris, with an analysis by FiveThirtyEight (a polling organization owned by ABC) indicating that 57% of viewers thought she won, compared to just 34% for Trump. One area where Trump did seem to take the lead was his number of false statements, with CNN counting over 30 for Trump to Harris’ one.
Among student viewers in Argyros Forum, the general consensus seemed to lean towards Harris. Senior philosophy and economics double major Eric Hall affirmed, “Although I didn’t watch the last debate back in July, my understanding was that neither Biden nor Trump displayed their best selves. Last night though, it seemed like Harris was much better able to handle Trump’s rhetoric.”
The outcome for freshman political science major Taylor Victoria was less sure. “My immediate reaction to the debate was uncertainty. Both candidates made claims that were challenging to fact check, some of which were false. However, I believe Harris was more thorough with the facts she provided,”
As for how ABC handled the debate, opinions were split. While Hall thought that ABC “did their best moderating the debate,” Victoria disagreed. “I do not believe ABC did a good job at moderating the debate. There were more moments than I could count where Trump disrespectfully continued speaking after his time ran out,” explained Victoria.
In the aftermath of the debate, the main question left to be answered is how it will affect the voter rolls. In Compton’s mind, it may have more of an impact than one might first think.
“Vice President Harris had a pretty good night. We know from public opinion polls that most voters have already formed strong opinions about former President Trump, but this is not true of Harris. This year’s debate may be more significant, since opinions about Harris are more fluid,” said Compton. “It’s worth mentioning that the Biden-Trump (debate) a couple of months ago was hugely significant, since it led to Biden dropping out of the race and being replaced by Harris as the Democratic nominee.”
For Hall, the debate left him more energetic about the election. “I typically haven’t been the most enthusiastic about Biden, but I was glad to see that Harris was better at handling Trump,” he said.
Victoria struck a different tone, with the debate only solidifying her plans for the upcoming election.
“The debate did not change my voting plans, but confirmed what I believed before,” Victoria said. “Although I do not agree with all of Harris' ideologies, likely similarly to anyone who supports a politician, I know I would vote for her over a convicted criminal.”
As of publishing this article, both Chapman Republicans and Chapman Democrats have yet to issue statements to the Panther regarding the debate.