September 10 Marked The Heavily Anticipated Presidential Debate
Millions of Americans across the country tuned into the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, hosted by ABC News on September 10, 2024. President Joe Biden made the decision to drop out of the presidential race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris in his stead on July 21, a choice that was quickly embraced with an outpouring of support that was unexpected even from those who had urged Joe Biden to drop out months prior.
In fact, Kamala Harris has received such a historic amount of funding to her presidential campaign, that she made the decision to donate 25 million dollars to other democratic campaigns at the state-level. This year, Donald Trump makes history as the first convicted felon in U.S. history to ever run for President. This election is being described as historic, and is being watched closely by millions across the nation.
This year’s presidential debate differed from many that have been held in the past, primarily in the rules that were set, muted microphones being one major difference. Some key topics discussed during the debate included abortion, the economy, fracking, military policy, immigration, healthcare, and the January 6 insurrection.
The debate was heavily criticized for misinformation, with NPR reporters working in real time to fact check claims made by both candidates. Donald Trump falsely made the claim that Haitian immigrants are eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio, a statement that was responded to by one of the debate moderators David Muir, who said that there are in fact no credible sources to substantiate such a claim. In an alarming statement from Trump’s running mate J.D Vance after the presidential debate, Vance stated that he is willing to “create stories” in order to get attention from the American people.
This was far from the only time that one of the moderators stepped in to clarify a false claim, and Linsey Davis also responded to Trump’s claim about infants being killed at birth. Davis stated, “There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it’s born.”
The debate left some viewers discouraged that they didn’t get a real sense of specific policies of the candidates because the debate was filled with the moderators clarifying misinformation.
Kamala Harris has welcomed another debate with Donald Trump, with Trump responding “THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” on the site “Truth Social.” News outlets like The Washington Post and The New York Times both used “dominates” or “dominated” to describe the debate style that worked in Harris’ favor. More than 67 million viewers watched the ABC presidential debate, a staggering number that reveals the intense anticipation of the historic election that is rapidly approaching.
