On the evening of the 10th, Eastern Time, Trump and Harris held their first, and possibly last, televised debate. After all, the general election is on November 5th, and there are more than 50 days left.
So this debate is very important to both of them.
This is Harris's debut. Before that, she had always been Biden's running mate and lived under Biden's shadow. Now that she has stepped to the front of the stage, she must perform well, right?
Especially since Biden performed poorly in the last debate, and now that a younger person has taken his place, shouldn’t he be able to show off his youthful style in front of the voters?
Although she was born in 1964 and is 60 this year, she is still a young person compared to Trump, who was born in 1946 and is 78 this year.
And what about Trump himself?
Through this televised debate, he will consolidate his base and continue to explain his political ideas to voters.
Of course, judging from the situation, Trump is definitely unwilling to have this debate with Harris.
There are two reasons.
First, facing Biden, he is acting as a challenger, a young and strong lion, ready to drive Biden, the old lion king, off stage at any time.
Moreover, Biden is in poor health and his Alzheimer's problem is getting worse. This is something everyone knows, so Trump can take advantage of the TV debate to make Biden look bad.
But now, Biden has made a complete fool of himself and has been driven out of office.
After experiencing the shooting incident, Trump's reputation and momentum have reached their peak. He naturally became the defender, waiting for others to challenge him.
He performed normally, as he should.
But if you don't perform well, your opponent will take advantage of your weakness.
Second, Harris and the Democrats control the vast majority of the media and have very strong media resources and public opinion advantages.
As long as Trump is at a slight disadvantage in the debate, or is stumped by some questions, the media will immediately make a big fuss about it.
For example, after today's TV debate, Trump's poll ratings plummeted.
The related topics immediately became hot searches.
However, we need to clarify two concepts.
1. Poll support rate and real support rate are two completely different concepts. This has been mentioned before. As long as you can control the statistical sample, you can get any result you want.
For example, if you go to the entrance of the Yasukuni Shrine and ask people, "Do you support Japanese militarism?" then most of the answers you get will definitely be in favor.
But if you ask this question at the entrance of the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, I'm sorry, your head will be hit.
2. Who made the following statistical chart?
This is a debate watcher poll conducted by CNN. Everyone knows where CNN stands, so: "Most debate watchers say Harris performed better than Trump."
Because the media are all on the side of the Democratic Party, after this debate, they will hype it up, which will indeed be detrimental to Trump's election prospects.
So, this is why I said Trump doesn't want to have this TV debate with Harris. He just needs to play it safe and wait until November.
But there is no way. They have already taken the initiative to invite you. If you don’t go, doesn’t that mean you are afraid?
If you don’t have the courage to show yourself on TV, how can you lead the American people in the future?
So there is no choice but for Trump to fight back.
The above is the general background before the debate between the two today.
So let's get back to the debate itself. What did they both say?
I have briefly summarized it for you and concluded the following points.
1. Tariff issues.
On the issue of tariffs, Trump said: We are imposing tariffs, and in some cases they will be very severe.
He boasted about his tariff plan, advocating 10%-20% tariffs on imports from all countries, and specifically mentioned China, on which he proposed a tariff of at least 60%.
Harris hit back, suggesting that Trump's proposal to impose tariffs on overseas goods should be called the "Trump sales tax" because it would ultimately be paid by middle-class American families.
Harris then spoke about her focus on the middle class, pushing for a child tax credit and her small business plan, while slamming Trump for wanting to cut taxes again for corporations and billionaires.
Harris said she has a plan to help Americans worried about the economy, and she outlined her plan to build an "opportunity economy."
Trump responded: First of all, I don’t have a sales tax, which is not true.
Then Trump began to criticize Harris and the Biden administration for pushing up inflation and making the American people suffer during their tenure.
2. In terms of energy.
Trump said he is a big fan of solar energy and accused Harris of killing fossil fuels if she is elected.
Harris, however, outlined the Biden administration's climate agenda, which she said would ban fracking and invest in a variety of energy sources to reduce dependence on foreign oil.
3. The issue of illegal immigration.
This is the highlight and one of the topics that the outside world is more concerned about.
Trump accused Democrats of supporting open borders. He said illegal immigrants were taking over American towns and cities, and that the actual number of illegal immigrants was much higher than the published data, which was equivalent to allowing millions of criminals, terrorists, and drug dealers to flood into the United States, pushing up the US crime rate.
However, at this time, the host cited data to question Trump's claim about rising crime rates.
The host said that according to data from the FBI, all major crime categories fell by an average of 15% in the first quarter of 2024, so how can there be an increase?
Trump immediately said: These statistics are fraud!
In response, Harris attacked that bipartisan immigration legislation was being undermined in Congress because Trump persuaded US lawmakers to cancel a bipartisan border security bill.
Harris then took the opportunity to mention the criminal charges facing Trump.
4. Capitol Hill harassment.
Trump was asked if he regretted what happened when his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Trump said that apart from giving a speech, he had nothing to do with this matter.
He also said the riot would not have happened if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had done her job.
In addition, Trump has refused to admit that he lost the 2020 presidential election, saying that his remarks such as "lost by a hair's breadth" were ironic, and continued to reiterate his false claims of election fraud.
"We can't afford a president who will subvert the will of the voters," Harris said.
She called on voters to turn the page and not go back.
5. The right to abortion.
This is also a highlight.
Harris said the Biden administration took a leadership role in advocating for abortion rights after Roe v. Wade was overturned. As a candidate, she criticized Biden's previous support for the Hyde Amendment, which blocks federal funds from most abortion procedures.
Harris also criticized the "Trump abortion ban," saying "Trump should not be dictating to women's bodies."
Trump said the Democrats were radical in this regard, but he would not sign a national abortion ban.
Because Trump also knows that this is a minefield and a sensitive topic. If he is not careful, he will lose a lot of votes.
So, he began to change the subject, accusing Harris of making up lies again, "because this is an issue that is tearing our country apart, and this issue should be returned to the states to resolve."
6. The Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli issue.
Trump said that ending the Russia-Ukraine war and putting an end to it is in the best interests of the United States.
The host asked, do you want Ukraine to win the war?
But Trump changed the subject and started talking about the preciousness of life.
On the issue of Israel.
Harris said she would defend Israel's right to self-defense, but at the same time she was losing patience with the humanitarian problems caused by Israel's Netanyahu government in Gaza.
This war has to end, she said. It has to end now. “We have to have a two-state solution.
Then Trump took the opportunity to attack Harris: she hates Israel and she hates Arabs.
Finally, the debate ended.
In short, both sides threw dirty water on each other.
Both of them said that they won. Who will have the last laugh, King Trump or Sister Haha? I’m afraid we will have to wait until November 5th to officially know the final result.