Who won and who lost the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris depends on what media you read. Also, the point of view and discussions circle around which presidential candidate best addresses one’s personal interests. 

Kamala Harris and Trump traded barbs for more than 90 minutes on Tuesday. The debate was light on substantive policy and heavy on personal attacks. It started with a handshake and ended with the candidates painting one another as awful leaders who should not be elected.

The key takeaways? Trump called Kamala a Marxist. He tried to portray her as a far-left candidate who would pursue open-border policies, and ban fracking. He said “She has a plan to confiscate everybody’s gun.”

He also linked her to President Joe Biden, painting them as fundamentally the same type of politician. Trump also accused Harris of planning to defund the police.

Harris’ behavior was that of a “coached celebrity” as described by viewers on X (formerly twitter). At several points, she appeared to be suppressing her laughter as Trump spoke. 

Harris questioned Trump’s fitness for office and called him a “disgrace”. She also attempted to dismiss Trump as an object of ridicule. 

Kamala told Trump it is “absolutely well-known that these dictators and autocrats are rooting for you to be president again.” She added that it is “so clear they can manipulate you with flattery and favors, and so many military leaders who you have worked with have told me you are a disgrace.”

Kamala and Trump on the Israel-Gaza, Russia-Ukraine, wars

When asked about the war in Gaza, Trump and Kamala reached for their usual talking points. Kamala said she backs a ceasefire deal in Gaza that would see the release of Israeli captives. In addition she renewed her pledge to continue to arm Israel. She also voiced support for the two-state solution.

Israel has a right to defend itself… and how it does so matters, because it is also true far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed — children, mothers. What we know is that this war must end […] I will always give Israel the ability to defend itself, in particular, as it relates to Iran and any threat that Iran and its proxies pose to Israel.

Kamala Harris

On his part, Trump stood his ground that the war in the Middle East would not have broken out if he were in office. He also accused Harris of having a bias against Israel.

She hates Israel. At the same time, in her own way, she hates the Arab population because the whole place is going to get blown up — Arabs, Jewish people, Israel. Israel will be gone.

Donald Trump 

On the subject of Ukraine, the two candidates did not appear to be on the same page. Trump said he would push for a deal to end the conflict. Harris stressed the need to support Ukrainian forces to push back against the Russian invasion.

Trump argued that the lack of leadership in the Biden administration allowed Russia to invade Ukraine. He said: “I think it’s in the US’s best interest to get this war finished and just get it done and negotiate a deal because we have to stop all of these human lives from being destroyed.”

Harris slammed Trump’s reluctance to pledge full-fledged support for Ukraine. She said “Understand, our European allies — NATO allies — are so thankful that you are no longer president and that we understand the importance of the greatest military the world has known, which is NATO.”

Global voices on the Trump debate – Who won?

Minutes following the debate, pop star Taylor Swift officially endorsed Harris. It is reported that Taylor Swift turned off her comments on Instagram after endorsing Kamala. Andrew Tate took to X saying “Well its official. Taylor Swift is endorsing Kamala so I guess I’m voting Trump.” 

After and during the debate, Candice Owens, a political commentator said, “Kamala Harris is insufferable. I cannot suffer this much longer.” 

She adds “It is so shocking to me that Kamala’s entire strategy here is to just appeal to women with emotion. She clearly knows every question and is well-rehearsed in making every answer emotional. Why is everything in politics so unbelievably fake and gay?”

Another commentator, Matt Walsh, said “Kamala baited Trump by making fun of his rallies. Trump took the bait, got angry, and started rambling. First misstep by Trump in this debate.” Elon Musk has had much to say after the debate.

Source: X

Billionaire Bill Ackman said “The world is in flames because of the weak leadership and failed foreign policy of the Biden-Kamala Harris administration. Incredible that (Kamala) calls (Trump) weak. Compare the effective deterrence of Trump’s first term’s foreign policy with no new wars with Biden’s infamous ‘Don’t.’”

He adds, “‘Don’t’ has only induced our enemies to attack our allies, and that is prima facie evidence of the failure of Biden-Harris’s foreign policy. And that’s before we discuss the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

ABC has come under negative spotlight for being hard on Trump and practically giving Kamala a free pass. Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia says “ABC has let Harris get away with the Charlottesville hoax, bloodbath hoax, police officers dying on J6 hoax, etc. But they fact check Trump on animals in Ohio… when he was correct”

Cryptopolitan reporting by Florence Muchai