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Knockout in the second presidential debate in the United States. Blow after blow, Kamala Harris He knocked down Donald Trump, a contender who, although widely followed, could not stand up to the truths and answers that his Democratic opponent showed at every opportunity.
In a sober business suit, perfect for the occasion, and with unflappable confidence, Kamala Harris entered the room prepared for this debate at the National Constitution Center, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event began at 6:00 p.m. (San Francisco time) with Kamala heading over to where Donald Trump was to greet him. A clear sign that there was no fear.
Again and again, from the beginning, Harris put Trump on the ropes, who became increasingly angry and sought to hit Kamala at any cost, who, smiling and at times serious, responded and made it clear that the vast majority of what Donald had said was “fake news.”
It was 90 minutes of back-and-forth, and while it gave Harris the race, it might not have much influence on voters' decisions.
Round 1 “Economy”
Kamala Harris noted that 16 Nobel laureates have said Trump's plan would increase inflation and push the country into a recession.
According to Politifact, this is mostly true, with the group of economists noting: “We believe a second Trump term would have a negative impact on America’s economic standing in the world and a destabilizing effect on the U.S. domestic economy.”
Harris added that Trump wants a “20 percent tax on everyday goods” that would cost families “about $4,000 more a year.”
Trump has proposed a universal tariff of “10-20 percent” on all U.S. imports, from cars and electronics to wine, food products and many other goods. He has also proposed a 60 percent tariff on imports from China.
Independent economists say the proposed import tariffs would undoubtedly result in higher prices for American consumers overall. But the precise financial impact on families is difficult to predict, and estimates vary widely — from $1,700 in additional annual costs per household to nearly $4,000, according to the study. Trump has not called for any tax increases on American families.
Trump said: “We have inflation like very few people have ever seen before. Probably the worst in the history of our nation.”
While that is not true, it was high. At the beginning of Joseph Biden's presidency, the annual inflation rate peaked at around 9 percent (June 2022), but it is not the highest ever reached, as in different periods it has reached a maximum of 14.5 percent.
The inflation rate for July 2024 is 2.9 percent annually, the lowest in three years.
Round 2 “Migration”
Harris claimed Trump “killed” the bill that would have secured the border, and that’s true.
Earlier this year, a bipartisan group of senators unveiled a $20 billion plan to substantially bolster security along the U.S.-Mexico border.
This bill would have added hundreds of Border Patrol and ICE agents and asylum officers; funded construction of a new border wall; expanded detention centers; ended “catch and release”; closed the border entirely when illegal crossings surge; and increased the level of asylum applications.
The influential Border Patrol union, which had previously backed Trump, publicly backed the bill. But hours after the draft legislation was released on Feb. 5, Trump urged his party to oppose the bill, even though many Republicans have spent years pushing for some of the security measures included in the deal.
In a badly delivered jab, Trump claimed that Haitian migrants were eating pets in Ohio.
“In Springfield, Ohio, they are eating the dogs, the people who came here, they are eating the cats. They are eating, they are eating the pets of the people who live there,” the Republican said during the debate.
A spokesperson for Springfield, Ohio, told ABC News that there have been “no credible reports or specific allegations of pets being harmed, injured or mistreated by individuals in the immigrant community.”
According to the Springfield News-Sun, the Springfield Police Department has not received any reports of stolen and eaten pets. The city even created a Web page which refutes some claims.
Trump noted that “millions and millions of people…come into our country every single month. I think it’s 21 million people.” False.
During the Biden administration, immigration officials have encountered immigrants illegally crossing the U.S. border about 10 million times. However, encounters are not the same as admissions. Encounters represent events, so a person trying to cross the border twice counts as two encounters. Also, not everyone they encounter is allowed into the country.
The Department of Homeland Security estimates that about 4 million encounters have resulted in removals or deportations.
“Crime in Venezuela… has gone down a lot because they have taken their criminals off the streets and handed them over to her [Harris] to bring into our country,” Trump said.
There is no evidence that Venezuela is doing this. Crime levels have decreased in the country, but experts say this is due to the state of the economy, and the independent Venezuelan Observatory of Violence said there is no money to steal.
"Crime is falling in Venezuela because of a reduction in opportunities to commit crimes: bank robberies are disappearing because there is no money to steal; kidnappings are falling because there is no cash to pay ransoms," the organisation told BBC Verify.
Round 3 “abortion”
As if all this were not enough, Donald Trump has entered into a difficult and intricate area: abortion in the United States.
Linsey Davis, the moderator of this debate, said to Donald Trump: “Vice President Harris says that women should not trust you on the issue of abortion because you have changed your position so many times. So why should they trust you?”
Trump did not hesitate to respond: “The previous governor of West Virginia, not the current governor, who is doing an excellent job, but the previous governor said that ‘the baby will be born and we will decide what to do with it. ’ In other words, ‘we will execute the baby. ’”
The former president took out of context what former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who is also a physician, said in a 2019 statement to radio station WTOP, where he said, verbatim, “When we talk about third-trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of the mother, obviously, and with the consent of doctors, more than one doctor, by the way, and they are done in cases where there may be severe deformities, there may be a fetus that is not viable.”
During the debate, Trump accused the Democratic candidate for vice president of the United States, Tim Walz, of defending that “abortion in the ninth month is absolutely fine,” adding “(Walz) says that execution after birth is fine [but] it is execution, not abortion anymore, because the baby has been born. And that does not seem right to me.”
Trump’s accusations are baseless, as there is no evidence that Walz has publicly advocated “ninth-month abortion,” while The Washington Post also claimed that Walz has made no such statements, while the moderator stated on air that “there is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after birth.”
ABC itself has published the same clarification on its website, stressing that “infanticide is illegal in all 50 states,” making it clear that Trump’s claims are unfounded.
What is certain is that, during this election campaign, the Republican leader has said that he would leave the limits on access to abortion to the decision of each state. This is already happening in the United States after the Supreme Court overturned in 2022 the historic Roe vs Wade ruling of 1973, which recognized for the first time the constitutional right of women to abortion without restrictions during the first trimester of pregnancy.
The 90-minute debate undoubtedly provided Trump with an opportunity to expand on his lies, both on climate change, elections, war, foreign relations, medical aid and even his assassination attempt.
It remains to be seen whether these two contenders for the US presidency will have another debate. What is certain is that, once again, voters were left wanting to know more about the plans of both for the next 4 years if they win the elections, and how this will help the inhabitants of the American union.
You may be interested in: “Donald Trump has lost strength because of his polarizing comments”: Anna Lee Mraz, sociologist
